Arranged Marriages and Wars of State
by Curlscat
Summary: The kingdoms of Sneak and Trickster have been on unsteady terms for as long as anyone can remember, but now they, especially their two leaders, who very much fit the stereotypes of their kingdoms, must learn to get along in the face of a new, true, enemy. AU Puckabrina story. 2ND IN ELLIGOATS TBSGS2012! Ch. 41: the epilogue. THE SEQUEL IS UP!
1. Five Tradeskingdoms

**AN~ Yup, I'm starting a new story. An AU story. Normally I don't hold with AU, but in the case of this plot bunny, I'll put up with it. Warning: this will be updated _very_ spottily, but I wanted to get the idea out here before anyone else took it. It's kind of like a very much expanded and more detailed version of my really long chapter of 'Hundred', Fairy Tale, if you want to take a look at that to see what you're in for. (Also kind of beating Winged Water to it, sorry, mi hermana!)**

**Disclaimer: Los personas aqi no estan mios.  
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><p>From the desk of 'Scarecrow', Chief Scribe of Magica, formerly of Scholar:<p>

The five tradeskingdoms of the great continent were established centuries ago, and Scholars long before myself have chronicled that already, and done so far better than I could.

However, as any good scribe, I must start my narrative with a brief history of the subject matter, and that means repeating what is common knowledge.

The founders of the kingdoms all had a common goal: to provide a place for people involved in any skilled trade to meet with others, share secrets and tricks, and to train others to do the same. They didn't begin as kingdoms, just empty tracts of land that were originally going to be turned into schools of sorts, but the kingdoms grew too fast, and simple, small structures had to be erected instead. After a time, tradespeople began to settle down and set up governments: schools where specializations could be learned, places for people to retire once their work was finished, and the like.

Originally, there were many small kingdoms, more lordships than anything, but one by one, most of these lands combined into countries proper.

My homeland, Scholar, is made up of teachers of all sorts, and those who love learning. We try not to discriminate who comes and lives with us, though few stay for long. Most leave the archipelago that houses us once they have learned all they need to, and go to other places to achieve firsthand knowledge or to spread the gift of learning to others.

My present country, Magica, is very unlike my previous dwelling. It is a mountain range that harbors little natural life, the furthest of these lands to the north, and it is landlocked. Magical enterprises are the only ones that could be studied in this cold, harsh land, other than perhaps mining, but that has been done and over with here for centuries.

The largest, Artisa, is a land of rolling hills and villages dedicated to one craft or another, from smithing to glassblowing to cooking and more. On my travels, it was my favorite of the lands, though I am not built for hard work.

Second largest is Trickster, which has long been debated as a tradeskingdom. The people there are dedicated to having no career at all, and rarely have they been chronicled to do anything helpful for anyone. It has a very large population of lazy people, though they all proclaim to have a talent of some sort, and they do farm and such enough to keep themselves alive.

Finally, there is Sneak. Little is known about this, the smallest of the tradeskingdoms. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by steep cliffs on three sides and the ocean on the last, less than two hundred miles square, and the people there become secret agents and spies and undercover sorts of things, but other than that, they don't tell anyone what they do. I, fortunately, had the benefit of a behind-the-scenes informant for this, otherwise this tale would be far less interesting.

Each of the countries lived together harmoniously most of the time. But on occasion there were... problems. I'm sorry to say that the occasion of which I will speak was started by my current home.

It begins, of course, with a princess...


	2. The Queen of the Sneaks

**AN~ Sorry about the long wait, guys. I wasn't actually going to add any more to this for a while, 'cause I have three other stories I'm supposed to be updating first, but two of them need me to have book nine, which happens to be in New Jersey. I am in Georgia. So I'm updating this.**

**I also want to apologize for the walls of text. This chapter is a lot of background information and stuff about the world, but it's mostly important, so I'm going to ask you to read it. Next chapter we'll get more into the fun stuff. Like dialogue. And Puck, maybe. Actually, he might not show 'til chapter three.**

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><p>Her majesty Queen Sabrina Grimm was scrubbing floors when the news came.<p>

Scrubbing floors was something royalty in Sneak were expected to know how to do. Actually, pretty much everything was something people in Sneak were expected to know how to do. The theory was that, unless one knew how to do everything, one would make a truly horrible spy. So children were taught the basics in every career possible, often being sent out to other tradeskingdoms, particularly Artisa, to learn how to perform every task. They were also taught about other cultures, and expected to learn how to blend in with them, and to own at least one article of clothing from most of the major styles.

Sabrina had done particularly well in training, which is why, when her parents had disappeared, she had been crowned queen with no questions, and her grandmother only named regent.

To become a liscenced Sneak required at least twenty years of intensive training, sometimes as much as thirty, and for the first five, children were taught the rudiments of other languages, the basics of how to move quietly and watch without being seen, geography and math. The second five were spent, almost entirely, in Artisa, learning crafts and trades and living with a family there. This part was supposed to teach children how to blend with another culture completely.

On their thirteenth birthday, children were finished with this stage of training, because schooling was started the day they turned three, and continued year-round, with only short breaks in between. Princess Sabrina had been finished with this stage of training, and had just started stage three, which was five years of far more intense cultural studies, combined with intervals of reminders on the trades, and a beginning of the true Sneak training: tracking, weapons, and espionage, when her mother and father, who had been away on a tour of the country, disappeared. No one had worried about it for a few weeks, because the royal family snuck as much as anyone, but when no word came after six weeks, and they missed the younger Princess Daphne's birthday, it became apparent that they'd gone missing.

A search had been put on, with the best Sneaks sent out to find the king and queen and their son, who had been too young even to start school, and taken with them. No signs had been found, which was very unnerving for a Sneak focused in tracking, and after a long six months, Princess Sabrina was named Queen unanimously.

She didn't perform many queenish duties, because she and her grandmother had agreed that she ought to focus on her studies- the Sneaks wouldn't take too kindly to a queen who hadn't finished becoming truly one of them, but she'd found that her workload was going to become heavier, because the material that wasn't usually added until stage four, politics and interpersonal studies, had been stuck into her curiculum, along with some classes from her grandmother on how to rule wisely.

Cleaning was a break from all that, and one the servants were happy to give her. Most of the servants were either older, Sneaks who had retired from the life, and were now supporting themselves with jobs that were less hazardous, or still students, supporting themselves through the upper stages of training (stages four through six contained legal adults, who were expected to support themselves. Their parents had better things to do). They were happy to either give their backs a rest or go study and let her mop a floor, and she was happy not to be disturbed.

She was thinking what she'd do in stages five and six, when she got there, because five and six were the first specialized stages. In stage four, the option to choose some areas of study arose, but in stages five and six, classes were almost entirely specialized to a certain country or career, or type of sneaking. Sometimes all three. It was how they chose which Sneak to send on which mission, which was part of the job of the king or queen, along with the Board of Sneak.

She was considering which weapon she'd like most when her sister found her, literally popping out of nowhere. She loved magic, and already knew she wanted to focus on Magica when she got to stage five, though Sabrina hated it. Most Sneaks did. They used tracking spells and cloaking ones when absolutely necessary, but it was considered cheating, and dangerous, by the majority of the citizens.

"What is it now?" Sabrina asked her sister, making a face and pushing the mop over where Daphne's feet had just landed, tracking mud onto her clean floor.

"Grandmother wants you," the princess Daphne said, dusting off her brown and gold frock. "I'd suggest you go now, it seemed to be rather important."

Daphne was ten and precocious, and though she was far too loud to be a proper sneak, she was smart, and had mastered the things that interested her (languages and magic) in record time, though she had difficulties with the parts of the training that Sabrina most enjoyed (weapons and espionage), though Sabrina wasn't half bad at languages, herself, and they were both excellent at cultures. They got along quite well, despite their differences in personality and age, and had bonded even more when their parents disappeared.

"Did she say what she wanted?" Sabrina asked, finishing the floor.

Daphne shook her head and said, "All I know is that she wants you. Now."

"I have to clean up," Sabrina pointed out. Sneaks learned early to never give up on a job without finishing it to the best of their abilities.

"I'll do it," Daphne offered, "if you promise to tell me everything once you're done."

"Of course," Sabrina said, rolling her eyes and handing off the mop and bucket to her younger sister. "Where is she?"

"North tower," Daphne said, "Top room."

Sabrina sighed. The north tower was the tallest in the castle, and the top room was, while beautiful, extremely hard to get to from anywhere, let alone the southeast entrance hall, which she'd been cleaning. It had windows that had no glass on the bottom, allowing the countryside for mile around to be seen, and stained glass on the top for no practical reason at all except to give someone practice at glassmaking for their schooling. This meant it was rather lopsided, but stable and still pretty enough.

She leapt across the wet floor in seventeen bounds, using only her toes. She'd seen her master (who was, granted, six two) make it in nine once, but her lowest was sixteen, and when she did it this time, she almost lost her balance on the slippery flagstones. She didn't bother to practice sneaking as she ran to the base of the north tower, but she was still very close to silent anyway, the only noise made by her swishing dress as she passed the equally silent servants.

Once she reached the base of the tower, she stopped, smoothing her hair and gown, and pulling her crown out of her pocket. The only thing the north tower was used for, other than watching, was important guests. This was for two reasons: first, it was impossible to be listened in on, as the next room down was about thirty feet below and could only be reached by a folding staircase that was drawn up whenever it was not prudent to be walked in on, and second, it was impressive, even if the stained glass was crooked and the reliefs on the walls weren't particularly detailed. So the likelihood of someone else being in the tower, someone who would care how she looked, was high.

She walked to the top completely silently and found the staircase down. At the top, she found her grandmother sitting at the round table in the center of the tower with another woman: a tall, thin, beautiful lady with dark hair, in a shimmering dress. Sabrina recognized her as the queen of Trickster. She ducked her head back down under the floor, shocked.

_Quick_. She told herself. _Why is she here? What's known about her?_ Her mind ran through a list of facts: 1) Married Oberon, man now deceased. Suspicious circumstances. 2) Thirty-two, two children, both boys. 3) Formerly of Magica, daughter of a high ranking citizen. 4) Unknown skills. Genealogy suggests high magical abilities. 5) Fought with her husband often, did not choose her marriage. 6) Has alibi for his death. 7) Queen Mother of Trickster, now. Eldest son puppet king. 8) Cold, conniving, allegedly. 9) Competent ruler.

That was it. And it gave Sabrina no ideas why she might be there. She'd have to read up on her when she got out. The library had a room full of profiles of people, there had to be more information on her. But that would have to wait. Now she had to go see her.

"You summoned me, Grandmother?" Sabrina asked, which was code for 'what exactly is going on here, do I need to make and impression?

"Have a seat, Sabrina," her regent instructed. "No need for formalities."

Sabrina pulled out her chair, berating herself for the noise it made against the stone floor, and sat, examining her grandmother closely for any information. The woman's face was blank, so she switched her gaze to the Trickster, studying her, reminding herself to ask 'what can I learn?'

While Sabrina studied, her grandmother said, "Recent reports have been... worrisome, Sabrina, as I'm sure you know." Sabrina nodded, so she continued, "Trickster has been having some similar situations, and we have decided it is time to take some cautionary measures." She took a deep breath and said, "We're forming an alliance."

Now Sabrina turned to her regent, her head whipping around. An alliance? With Trickster? But everyone in Sneak _hated_ Trickster! They were everything Sneak was not, and couldn't get along. It must be worse than she'd thought, if things had come to this. "What... exactly are the... terms of this alliance?" Sabrina asked her grandmother, choosing her words carefully.

"Well, for one thing, we plan to combine forces on outside threats, and train together," Relda began, "And, of course, we need to seal the treaty. We would like to do so with a marriage."

Sabrina nodded, working to keep her mouth from tightening. She didn't like where this was going. "Who?" she asked.

"The Trickster King," the regent started, taking another deep breath, "and you."

Sabrina froze. No. No. No. She'd heard about him, but her mind wouldn't list the facts over its mantra of 'not this. Anything but this,' and it took her a long time to work herself into a state that she could say to the Trickster woman next to her- his mother!- "Would you excuse us for a moment?"

"Of course." The Trickster Queen nodded regally. It was the first time she'd spoken, and a far-off bit of Sabrina's mind seemed to be coming back, because it noted that she had a very rich voice, even if it was expressionless.

She stood up stiffly and walked down the stairs, following her grandmother to the floor below- a mostly unused room that Sabrina wouldn't have minded moving in to if it wasn't so hard to get to, collapsing the staircase behind her.

"Sabrina-" Relda started.

Sabrina cut her off, holding herself carefully still as she half shouted, "What on earth, Granny? The Trickster King? He's- You want me to marry a man from Trickster?"

"Yes, because-"

"I can't!" Sabrina wailed. "A marriage, fine! But why me? Why couldn't Daphne do it? She like things like that! I'll... I'll die if I have to put up with that all the time! I hate them!"

"Daphne's too young," Relda pointed out.

"So am I!" Sabrina snapped. "I havent' finished my training! How am I supposed to do that? And how are we both supposed to rule our countries if we're married to people from other places?" She couldn't hold it in anymore, so she slammed her fist into the wall, then again, and again and again, until her knuckles snapped open and she was bleeding on her dress. She slid down the wall and glared at her grandmother, then whispered, "Why?"

Relda knelt down by her granddaughter and said, "Sabrina, we need them. And to get them, it needs to be you."

"Why?" Sabrina demanded again.

Relda sighed and said, "It's worse than you know, the situation. There's going to be a war. A war we can't win on our own, and one they can't win, either. So we need this alliance to protect ourselves. Because we have discipline, but they have numbers."

"So why me?" Sabrina asked.

"Sabrina..." Relda said, looking at the girl, "You're... you are the ultimate Sneak. Not only are you good at what you ought to be, but your personality... You're brave, you're headstrong, you won't let others do work for you, you have to be in the thick of things, you can't follow orders, you look for ways around things, you never give up, you hate magic... And he's just the same, but for his country. If you two can make it work, the rest of the country will follow."

Relda sighed. "I'm asking you to do something horrible, something nobody should ever have to do. I know how you feel about that boy in your class, Bradley, and I'm asking you to put that aside. I know you have what it takes to be a good ruler, to put aside yourself for your country. I'm asking you to make the ultimate sacrifice, and to give up any chance to be with this boy, to have your happiness, because otherwise we will all die, or worse, become part of Magica, to be used for whatever they want. Will you do it?"

Sabrina took a deep breath and nodded, standing. "I'll... I will do anything to keep my country safe," she whispered, "I'll marry him."

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><p><strong>Oh hey, look, it's Bradley. Maybe I'll give him a personality. Maybe.<strong>

**Some anonymous reviewer replies:**

PenguinLoverGurl:** I hope this answered most of your questions. Glad you liked it!**

oah ehm gee: **If it was a oneshot, I'd have marked it complete. Also that would be a really stupid oneshot. Nothing happened!**

McKenzie:** I do not. By the way, this will be a very irregularly updated story.**

OlympianGoddess:** Thank you for the review!**

K:** I hope you're still keeping an eye on it, it's been over a month...**


	3. Less than Cheerful

**AN~ Well, that was faster than I expected. Probably faster than you expected, too. I think the change of scenery really got my brain going, because I've been doing a lot of writing recently.**

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><p>Sabrina walked back into the highest room in the castle and, taking a deep breath, told the Trickster Queen, "The discussion is finished. What exactly are the terms of our... arrangement?"<p>

Relda walked in behind her ward and said, "You won't be married for some time, obviously. You haven't even had your official coming-out. You'll be engaged for at least three years before a marriage is even begun to be planned. But you'll be spending most of your time together up until then. He may even participate in some of your studies."

Sabrina nodded and said, "I meant for the countries."

"Ah," Relda said, "A similar program, a sort of exchange, will be started up between our respective citizens, and we will learn from each other in preparation for this threat."

Sabrina nodded again, thinking, _More like they'll learn from us_. She had a difficult time believing that the Tricksters could save them, but she trusted her grandmother. If she thought it would work, she would attempt it. No matter what it cost her.

"We hope to have you come to our country in a month or so," Titania told Sabrina. "Once the announcements have been made. You'll be formally introduced to my son, and he'll take you on a tour of the country, if I have to drag him every step of it."

"Is he... particularly lazy, then?" Sabrina asked, fighting to keep her face from falling. She knew one of this woman's sons was tolerable, taking after his mother. Why couldn't he have been the one she was engaged to?

"Oh, yes," Titania nodded. "He'll make an absolutely horrible ruler. But the people there are so stubborn, and one of the things they're adamant about is that the crown always goes to the eldest of the previous king. That's why I'm glad he'll be married off. This way we can have him out of the country, and his brother and I can run the kingdom without his interference, without worrying about him making a mess of anyplace else."

This boy was so horrible that his own mother didn't want him around! What had she gotten herself into? But at least Titania was being open. That was a nice change from Sneak's guessing games. They were considered good practice, and sometimes Sabrina was nearly driven insane trying to decipher what to believe.

"You don't think he'll make a mess of here?" Sabrina asked doubtfully. If he was that awful...

Titania looked Sabrina up and down before saying, "Miss Grimm, I have every confidence you can handle anything life throws at you. This includes my impossible son."

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><p>"And just where are you going?"<p>

Sabrina, halfway out the lowest window of the north tower, froze. She'd been caught sneaking. This was extremely embarrassing, and depending on who it was, she could be in for a large amount of trouble. She turned slowly, and saw Daphne standing there, hands on her hips. She relaxed. Daphne wouldn't tell.

"I'm leaving," Sabrina said shortly. "I have to go see-"

Daphne glared. "I've been waiting ages for you to get out of that meeting. You promised you'd tell me what it was about. And I am not waiting even longer for you to go run off to spy on Bradley again! You're going to tell me what happened! Now!"

Sabrina sighed, and did, giving her sister the report the way she'd been trained: an emotionless repeat of the facts, not letting her thoughts get in the way of what she'd seen and heard except to make speculations. Like a good Sneak.

When she was finished, Daphne said, "Oh."

"Yeah," Sabrina agreed. There wasn't much else to say.

"And here I was keeping you from Bradley, and you're not going to be able to see him ever again, and... I'm sorry, Sabrina!"

Sabrina sighed again. She'd forgotten that with Daphne, there was always something else to say. "It's fine," she said, "Can I go now?"

Daphne nodded, saying, "Oh, this is awful! I'm so... poor Sabrina." She paused, and as Sabrina slipped out the window, she heard her sister say, "Still, it may not be too bad. I heard the Trickster King is handsome."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, falling to the ground with a quiet 'whump' and running to the city. The capital of Sneak wasn't much of a city, with its permanent population of under two thousand, but it was her home, and she loved it. It was full of nooks and crannies, built halfway into the walls of the cliffs around Sneak, on a seaport. It was dark and dangerous for a newcomer, its alleyways twisting and turning off and back on to the few major thoroughfares, the tall buildings sometimes stacked on top of each other, with a house built onto someone else's roof. Some doors were disguised as sewer grates, some were hidden inside mazes, and some were walls that wouldn't open unless you knew the secret. The architects of Sneak had designed the place to be a puzzle, and none of the brightly colored buildings matched or made sense at all. Sabrina knew her way into most of the homes, and had found the secret rooms of more than a few.

She had the way to Bradley's house memorized: take a left outside the palace gate, climb the ladder onto the roof of the fourth house down, jump three roofs, go back down two stories and take a shortcut through the cave, pass the butcher then hang a right immediately, swing the rope to the next house down, follow that alley 'til you reached a dead end, and you were on his back porch, the last in the row.

She reached the door and knocked on it tentatively. She and Bradley rarely spoke to each other, they were still in the process of a Sneak flirtation: they spied on each other and caught themselves doing it, and left presents and puzzles sometimes, maybe a coded message, only speaking in school, when you were too busy learning to bother making things difficult for yourself, and talked straight with everyone. So this speaking thing was new.

"Hi," Bradley said, answering the door. He seemed surprised, but he'd answered the door, which meant he knew it was her.

"Hi," Sabrina returned, staring at him. She wouldn't be able to see him again, she wanted to take full advantage of it while it lasted.

"Do you want to... come in?" Bradley suggested.

Oh, yes, she really and truly would love to come in and stare at him, to run away to Bradley's house and never go back to the palace, to prove she was a good Sneak by never being found, but she couldn't, because a good Sneak also knew to put the mission first, and her mission was to save her kingdom, no matter what it cost her. So she shook her head.

"Oh," Bradley said, "Okay."

They were silent for a good while, staring at each other, before Bradley asked, "What brings you out here?"

"My Grandmother's arranged a marriage for me," Sabrina blurted, then cursed herself. That was no way to start. She took a deep breath, studying the house behind him- there was the outline of another door, one she hadn't noticed before- then said, "The kingdom... there's going to be a war. And my regent has made an alliance with Trickster, to keep Sneak safe. But she sealed it with a marriage. Between me and the Trickster King."

She looked at Bradley, and found him staring at her. She recognized the expression on his face: it was the one she put on when she was struggling to hide her disappointment. "Oh," he said again. That was what she liked about him. Well, one of the things. He knew when words wouldn't make anything better.

"So... I guess I came to say goodbye," Sabrina said, not bothering to mask her own emotions. "And... well, I'm sorry, I guess."

Bradley nodded, then did something so impulsive, Sabrina couldn't decide whether it made him more a Sneak or less one: he kissed her.

Sabrina almost pulled back, but she wanted this too much, so she leaned in to him, wrapping her arms around him as his went around her, feeling his warmth and strength and wanting to cry because this was just so wonderful, and she wanted to see where it went from here, but she wouldn't be able to, shouldn't even be doing this now, she was promised to someone else, but she couldn't stop herself, Bradley was just... everything she wanted, and this was a kiss that said there could be something more, but also one that said goodbye, sad and beautiful and fiercely angry at the injustice of it all.

When they finally broke apart, Bradley said, "I want more of that. So much. So... I'm going to... I've got to-"

"Leave," Sabrina finished for him. "Yeah. Before..."

"Before it goes too far," Bradley agreed.

He backed up, through the secret door, and Sabrina was too emotional to watch him open it, she was already off and running, running the tears away with her speed, down the alley, then the next and the next and the next, until she was so completely and totally turned around that it didn't matter that she knew every inch of the city, she'd have to wander for hours before she found the palace, running until she lost herself.

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><p>Sabrina had found her way to the docks and was sitting on the furthest of the slimy, barnacle-covered pilings past the jetties, staring out into the ocean, when her sister found her.<p>

"How'd it go?" Daphne asked, siting on a closer piling, one that was more intact, though just as slimy, as her sister's.

"He kissed me," Sabrina said, pulling her dress up further, over her knees. She didn't particularly care what seawater would do to the fabric, because the mossy wet algae had already ruined the skirt to the point of no return, but she didn't want to have to get home slogging and dripping in a heavy wet skirt.

Daphne gasped, then composed herself, obviously trying to sound like a proper Sneak, and said, "I thought you went to tell him goodbye."

"I did," Sabrina said, "It was a goodbye kiss."

"I'm sorry, Sabrina," Daphne offered. "It's not fair, you having to do this."

Sabrina shrugged, expressionless. "I chose it," she reminded her sister. "And what's one person's lost happiness, when it saves a whole country?"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Daphne asked, tentatively.

Normally, Sabrina would have stayed silent. Sneaks didn't talk about their feelings much, most of them. It was information that could be used against you. Almost as bad as crying, which she'd thankfully been able to keep from doing. The sight of their queen weeping in the streets would not have been good for her country.

But today... today was different, and, her hands closing into fists, she said, "I just... I want him so much, Daphne! He's everything I could ask for in... anything! A partner, a friend, a sweetheart... He's brave, he's talented, he's quiet like I am, but he understands me, he's... gosh, but he's funny, and that's something I'm not, he's smart... And I... can't have him. And it hurts."

"I don't know how to make it better," Daphne said, and the sorrow in her voice made Sabrina hurt worse. "Do you want me to help you make the best of it, or commiserate with you, or...?"

"Just... don't talk about it," Sabrina said. "Not tonight."

"All right," Daphne agreed.

They sat there in silence for a time, a rare thing around Daphne, and, surprisingly, Sabrina felt better. Not happy, exactly, but like she could do what she had to, and she could live with it, eventually. Hopeful, maybe. So she stood, balancing on the slippery, disintegrating wood, and turned to her sister, who was crouched precariously on her way back to the shore.

Daphne moved out of her way so quickly Sabrina was sure she'd been waiting for that signal since she got there in the first place, and the two hopped back to the jetty at the edge of the cliffs and headed for home, a relatively short journey, as the castle butted up against the area of the docks they were in.

When they reached the castle, it was almost sunset, and well past dinnertime, so Sabrina headed straight for the kitchens, while her sister ran off to do an Unknown Activity (something Sabrina would almost have been willing to follow her, if it wasn't for her growling stomach). She hoped the kitchens were serving something mild this evening. Someone had decided that it was good for the Sneaks to eat foods from all over the world, no matter how horrible they seemed, so that they would be well acquainted with them if they had to visit their homelands. Sabrina wasn't particularly fond of most of them. It was the one part of Sneak training her sister was better at than she was.

Her grandmother was in the kitchens when she got there. She handed Sabrina a plate of haggis and gravy-soaked potatoes (at least one edible item), then tutted over her clothes.

Sabrina was too busy stuffing potatoes into her mouth to respond to her grandmother until she said, "Well, I suppose it's a good thing you'll be needing an entirely new wardrobe."

Sabrina had no problem with clothing. It was useful: it contained pockets, and protected her from the weather. But she hated getting new clothes, because that meant fittings. Fittings meant hours standing with her arms straight out while someone wrapped a string around different parts of her body, which would be wearing far less than usual, and none of that useful. "Why?" She complained around a mouthful of food.

"You've grown again, dear, your old gowns don't fit right," Relda explained, "And most of them are stained, anyway. We'll have to get you plenty of new clothes for when you tour Trickster next month. You want to make the right impression."

Sabrina sincerely hoped that 'the right impression' didn't mean that she would need to wear the fashions of that country. She was fond of fashions in Sneak. They were designed for efficiency, taking everything in the world of clothing (women's, in particular), and giving it a useful purpose. They were fond of hoopskirts because they kept the dress away from the legs of a woman who needed to run or climb, and one had been designed which allowed it to be collapsed to fit in tight spaces or be raised like Venetian blinds for climbing, and skirts without hoops rarely came without slits in the sides and sashes to tie them high, out of the way. Petticoats were a rare addition, though, unless it was cold.

Blouses had tight sleeves, for the most part, because billowing sleeves got in the way, though sometimes a puffed short sleeve could hide a clever pocket, and were never too form-fitting, though they did wear corsets. These corsets, though, were armor. They were worn loose, and shaped with hinged and well-oiled metal that allowed for freedom of movement but still protected one from being stabbed in the torso. Pockets were hidden in all sorts of out of the way places that one would never expect, and seamstresses, tailors, and clothing designers were highly respected members of society, always coming up with new clever ideas for secrets in clothing.

Girls could, if they liked, wear trousers, but it was looked down upon, because being able to function at full capacity in a skirt was a skill, and one the women of Sneak were proud of, even if the clothes they wore made it easier than usual to wear gowns.

"When does my fitting start?" Sabrina asked warily.

"Tomorrow," Relda informed her. "Seven in the morning. The blue room. I recommend you get a good night's sleep, your arms will be tired by the time this is finished."

"Will you be there?" Sabrina asked.

Relda shook her head and said, "I've got to see Titania off."

"How did she get here?" Sabrina asked. "When is she leaving? Where is she staying?"

Relda shook her head with a smile and said, "Now, Sabrina, what kind of Sneaks would we be if I told you that?"

Sabrina raised her eyebrows at her regent, then grinned. She was right. She'd just have to find out for herself.

* * *

><p>She never got the chance to find out, though, because she fell asleep while bathing and changing out of her dirty gown, and by the time she woke up the next morning, she was already almost late for her dreaded fitting, so she pulled on a serviceable old dress (she'd just have to take it off again in five minutes anyway) and took the secret passage to the blue room through her water closet.<p>

The seamstress didn't react at all to Sabrina appearing out from the column in the corner of the room, nodding at a stepstool in the center and saying, "Get in place."

Sabrina sighed and stripped off her gown, then went to stand on the stool. She left her arms down, though. She was leaving them down as long as possible.

The seamstress hated fittings as much as Sabrina did. She also hated mornings, and wouldn't begin really talking until after ten o' clock. Why she'd agreed to meet at seven, Sabrina had no idea. This made the fitting even less enjoyable, because the seamstress just grunted through most of it, and Sabrina had to guess what she wanted.

By the time the measuring was finished, though, she'd started to open up, and had pulled out a book on fashions in Trickster, as well as her packet of fabric samples, and she'd gotten to the part she enjoyed: designing the dresses.

Sabrina was no good at this part. She liked touching the cloth, but she didn't know what was best for what, or which color looked best on her, or what shape her neckline should be in relation to her sleeves. She just let the chatter wash over her, and allowed her clothes to be designed for her. As she'd suspected, clothes in Trickster were far less practical than her home, but the seamstress assured her she could make something that would fit in and still be serviceable, and she only needed a few outfits that would fit in with Trickster, anyway, because the people would be expecting her to wear clothes from her home, because they'd want something interesting to look at, so she could have plenty of good clothes.

Sabrina nodded, letting the sea of words wash over her, and didn't take in much of anything. Clothes were a mystery she would never solve.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ We'll meet Puck next chapter, I promise. It just made more sense to have all this stuff first. Plus this way I can do whatever I want with him, and it gives me time to figure out what the capital of Trickster looks like. I mean, it's a kingdom of lazy people. How much splendor can they have?<strong>

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	4. The King of the Tricksters

**AN~ I already apologized, but I owe you another apology, because this chapter is so short. But then again, it's ended at the perfect place. I didn't want to get into Sabrina's side of things here.**

* * *

><p>"You want me to <em>what<em>?" Puck exploded at his mother.

"You don't have a choice, Puck, so relax," Titania said calmly, unpacking her bag the same way she'd been doing before she'd told him the news.

"What do you mean, I don't have a choice?" Puck demanded. "You're making me marry some girl I've never even met! And she's from Sneak! I bet she's some stuck-up workaholic with a stick up her behind who won't want to do anything interesting!"

"She'll be good for you," Titania said, "I've met her, and she's not boring at all. Stop complaining."

"Yeah, well you think taxes are interesting," Puck muttered.

"Taxes are the reason you can live in this palace, Puck, so stop complaining!" Titania snapped. "Make the best of it!"

Puck glared at his mother for a long time, then grabbed his sword and stormed out of her room, heading who knows where.

He was going to get out of this, though. She couldn't make him do something he didn't want to, she never could! Except that one time... and... never mind. She could. But rarely. And not about this. This was too big. Too important. He didn't want to marry anyone, let alone some stuck up boring _sneak_!

He was in his room, somehow. Not surprising. His feet took him there on autopilot sometimes. It was the place he could be calm, where he could think. It wasn't really a room. It was a broad open space in the middle of the Trickster castle, with blissfully unused walls stretching four stories above it, ready for the tricking. He had a forest, a field, a waterfall (it looked beautifully blue until one got close and realized that it was mostly the leavings of the castle's plumbing. He'd tricked many a guest with that), and a covered space where he could sleep if it rained, and where he stored most of his unused supplies. He was fairly certain it had started out as an elaborate prank to make people think they'd found an exit to the castle (exits to Castle Trickster were hard to come across), but it made for a wonderful place to be alone, and he'd commandeered it the second he was old enough to leave the nursery next to his mother's room.

His mother deserved an awful prank for what she'd done, but it was hard to prank her. She always had a comeback, and it was never worth it (almost never). And that was only when she didn't catch it beforehand. She was incredibly good at spotting his schemes. He'd have to come up with something awesome. And for that he'd need help.

He blew on the pipes he kept in his pocket, and his personal squad of chimpanzees appeared from every direction. Tricksters trained chimpanzees, or monkeys, or apes of any sort, sometimes even lemurs or raccoons, because they saw themselves in the tricky creatures. Also because, once trained, the animals would take care of all their chores, and the humans wouldn't have to worry themselves over anything so mundane as cleaning or cooking. His mother had brought a squadron of servants that were human (or close enough), but she was the exception, and almost everyone else had servants that were either animals or Tricksters in training, or convicts. He'd spent his whole life training his squadron, and he was very proud of them.

Of course, part of his success with them might have had something to do with his ability to understand them. That was a skill he'd gotten from his mother, along with a few others he was still learning to use. He was fond of magic, because it made life easier, but it was entirely too much work to learn to use, really. Talking to animals came naturally. Turning into them, which his mother and brother could do with ease, was something else entirely.

And speaking of his brother...

Mustardseed was standing in the corner of his room, watching the chimpanzees with a bored expression.

"You knew," Puck accused.

"Of course," Mustardseed said, wading through the chimpanzees. "I take it she told you?"

"It's all set up and everything!" Puck complained. "Why can't she marry you? You're just as much of a stick-in-the-mud as anyone from Sneak!"

"Because," Mustardseed said evasively. As usual.

Puck snorted. "What, you're not important enough?" he asked, then paused. "Wait a second... why didn't you tell me? Why didn't she tell me? Why'd she tell you?"

"Because we knew you'd react like this, obviously," Mustardseed said, "And I knew because I suggested the alliance between Sneak and Trickster."

"Of course you did," Puck muttered, "You've always been more like them than like us."

Ever since his name day, Mustardseed, Puck's younger-by-five-minutes brother, had been fighting against the traditions and opinions of Trickster. Puck thought it was because of the names. Names, were considered the first great prank to play on a child, so most people born in the country had ridiculous titles, like 'Rug' or 'Banana Pie'. Puck thought he'd gotten off lightly, but Mustardseed had been saddled with a name he despised, and had never forgiven his country for it.

Or it could have been that he took after their mother. He certainly did in most other respects. He was far better at magic, could call up their mother's invisible servants (who were in charge of the upkeep of the palace) on a whim, was far smarter when it came to anything practical in any other kingdom, and had almost no sense of humor. He and Puck didn't get along very well.

"Don't get into that again, Puck," Mustardseed said testily. "We've only got the country's best interests at heart."

"Did you bother to ask the country?" Puck snapped.

"We're not a democracy, Puck," Mustardseed said with a sigh.

"So why aren't_ I_ the one making decisions?"

"Because you're not old enough yet."

"And you are?" Puck felt like punching something, but there wasn't anything close enough, so he sat down at his table and started working on a new plan to distract himself.

"I'm not in charge, mother is," Mustardseed reminded him, still standing stiffly. "I just advise."

"And why don't either of you let me in on the advice process?" Puck demanded, still drawing out his newest plan.

"Because-"

"Because you think I'll mess everything up!" Puck interrupted. "Well that has to change! I'm king! And that means I need to have a say, even if Mother is a regent right now! I'm sorry I'm older, and you're not, and that you're being denied something you have, but I will not let you take my rights away from me!"

Mustardseed sighed and said, "I'm not jealous, Puck." Puck snorted and Mustardseed amended, "Well, not much. But there are reasons."

"Your reasons can go stuff themselves," Puck muttered. Then he was struck with an utterly brilliant idea. He turned to Mustardseed and said, "Tell Mother I'll agree to go through with the marriage without making a fuss if she starts including me in her decisions- _all_ of them."

Mustardseed looked surprised (Puck was pretty sure it was because he'd come up with a pretty brilliant and fairly mature compromise) and said, "She's not going to like that."

"Well, I guess she'll have to put up with it," Puck said, "because that's the only way I'm going to agree to this marriage. Otherwise I'll do something drastic."

Mustardseed gave Puck a crooked smile and said, "I'll tell her. I told her you were smart enough to get something you wanted out of this, but she didn't listen."

"You spend more time with me than she does." Puck didn't even bother to look up from his paper this time. He already knew his mother thought he was stupid. It wasn't worth acknowledging.

"Nobody who comes up with pranks as elaborate as yours could ever be considered stupid," Mustardseed said, leaving Puck's room as silently as he'd appeared.

* * *

><p>Puck was summoned to his mother's quarters again two hours later. He took his time following the steward back, putting some finishing touches on his design, rolling it up neatly, and putting all his tools away before standing, carefully pushing his stool in, and walking slowly towards the door.<p>

"Umm... I think she wanted you to come quickly, Your Majesty," the steward said, sounding nervous. "I believe it was important."

Puck looked at the steward and gave him a little smile. It wasn't the man's fault he was afraid of the queen. Everyone was. So afraid they'd act like regular human beings, instead of proper Tricksters. "It's fine," he said, "my mother needs to remember who's truly the ruler here."

The steward still looked nervous, but nodded.

"You can leave, if you want," Puck offered. "I know how to get to my mother's rooms."

The steward gave him a grateful look and hurried off to do whatever it was stewards did when they weren't needed.

When Puck finally arrived in his mother's rooms, she gave him a very irritated look. "You certainly took your time getting here," she told him.

"I'm sorry, I was in the middle of something," he said, taking satisfaction at her blanching when he used her excuse back at her. "What did you want?"

"Mustardseed came to speak with me earlier," Titania began slowly.

"Doesn't he normally do that?" Puck interrupted. He was going to enjoy this as much as possible.

"Yes, well, this time he had a message for me," Titania said. "From you."

"Oh?" Puck said, feigning indifference.

"He said-" Titania paused, looking as if she was trying to figure out the best way to phrase what she wanted to say. Puck was surprised. Normally she had her speeches all planned out, and he was lucky if he could throw her off twice in a conversation. "He said that you... have a bargain for me, Puck. That you'll cooperate with this marriage if... If I let you in on our decisions."

"That's right," Puck agreed.

"I have decided," Titania said, "to agree to this proposal, in the best interests of all parties."

Puck grinned. He'd won!

"But," Titania added, "this means additional lessons. I've been lax in your kingship training. It was a fault on my part, one I truly ought to have remedied, but I rather imagined..."

Puck groaned internally. He hadn't wanted more classes. But he finished his mother's sentence for her, saying, "You thought I'd be a puppet king. And Mustardseed would be the real power behind the throne. Because he's like you."

Titania made no attempt to deny this, but she did say, "The Scholar will begin training you in the ways of kingship, as well as your particular duties here in Trickster, on top of your regular lessons."

Puck clamped down on his facial muscles, refusing to let her see that he hated this. That would be letting her win. And then she'd 'suggest' that since he hated the idea so much, he go back to letting Mustardseed take all the training. He would not let that happen. So he just said, "All right, then. Same time as usual? Or should I go talk to him now?"

"Go," Titania said, handing him a slip of paper. "These are his instructions. I haven't had time to speak with him yet."

_Translation:_ Puck thought as he left, _I didn't think you'd actually go through with it, so I didn't want to talk with him._

* * *

><p>Puck liked the Scholar. Really he did. It wasn't his fault that most of the lessons were boring. But the Scholar was fascinated by Trickster, and had taught Puck a lot of the science he needed for most of his more elaborate pranks. They planned together, sometimes.<p>

So when he looked in on him, he wasn't nearly as upset as he would have been if it had been any other tutor. The Scholar had taught him that not all books were only good as stepstools or fire starters, and that sometimes it was worth the rash he'd been cursed with as a joke to touch them. He'd forced most of his lessons to be taught by this particular Scholar by pranking the others that came (and left) until they couldn't stand it. A few of the others had stayed, to teach Mustardseed.

"Ah, Puck," the Scholar said with a smile, peering around a pile of books. "What can I do for you today?"

"Mother sent this," Puck said, handing him the paper. "You're supposed to start teaching me how to rule this place. Finally."

"Yes, of course," the Scholar said. "High time, too. I ought have been doing this long ago, before your father died. We'll have a lot of catching up to do."

"Yeah, I guess we will," Puck said shrugging and leaning against a tottering table littered with high uneven stacks of papers. "What exactly will we be doing?"

"Well, other than the usual logistics of keeping a kingdom as large as this running and how to pacify people, you have a number of ceremonial duties that come of being a conglomerate instead of a single nation, and you have to learn how to handle all of those properly."

Puck blinked at the Scholar several times.

The man sighed and said, "There are ceremonies you'll have to do things at, and you have to learn what you're supposed to do, along with the normal kingly things like taxes and censuses and edicts and how to keep your people from rioting or falling apart on you."

"Oh," Puck said, in tones of great understanding. "That makes sense. Why didn't you say it like that in the first place?"

"Because I have to keep in practice somehow," the Scholar said. "Otherwise I'd go back to Scholar and be a laughingstock."

"So stay here," Puck suggested. "You're fun."

"We've talked about this before, Puck, you know I can't. I have family back there. This... I love it here, more than any place I've visited, but it's not home. Especially not with your mother here."

"Yeah, well..." Puck trailed off, out of arguments already. They'd had this discussion several times already, and there wasn't much point in repeating himself.

"Was there anything else?" the Scholar asked. "I don't want to push you out, but I have to return to work here."

"Yeah, actually," Puck said, a half-formed idea coming to the front of his mind and meshing itself together. "There is something else."

"Oh?" the Scholar asked. That was something Puck liked about him. He always gave everyone his full attention, no matter what. Never even seemed impatient. It was nice to feel that important. Not that he wasn't important already.

"I want you to add something else to my curriculum."

"What, exactly?" Now the Scholar looked really intriuged. Puck wasn't sure if it was because he'd used a word with more than two syllables or because he'd asked for more lessons.

Puck leaned over across the Scholar's desk and said quietly, "I want you to teach me everything you know about Sneak."

* * *

><p>Puck spent the next month closeted with the Scholar in the northeast study (an odd place for him to spend any more time than he needed to, almost as odd as the fact that the castle of Trickster had more than one study). He was determined to be ready for this. He was even more determined to prove his mother wrong.<p>

His hands were red and swollen, as were his lower arms (he really ought to find a way to break that little charm, now that he had to read more often), but he got through all the lessons the Scholar gave him, and more.

And then, finally, just hours before the delegation from Sneak was scheduled to arrive, he was ready.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ Any suggestions for who the Scholar should be? Any really smart Everafters other than the Scarecrow, since I used him already?<strong>

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	5. Diplomacy

**AN~ Well, they finally meet each other this chapter! Are you excited? I'm excited. I'm loving the feel of this chapter. But that might not be the chapter, it might be where I am. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Sabrina hadn't stopped staring since they'd crossed the border into Trickster. Everything was fascinatingly new, even though the slovenliness was a bit disgusting.<p>

They'd taken a boat from Sneak, since the mountains were practically impassable laden with the amount of gear she'd been forced to bring or had realized she couldn't live without. The boat had meant that, even though Relda had been needed at home, Daphne could come to say goodbye with Sabrina. Sabrina loved sea voyages, and had hoped this one would never end, because then she'd never have to face what lay on the other side of this journey.

But it had ended. And, after a week of riding her horse cross-country, they'd arrived at the capital city, which was even odder than everything she'd seen so far. There were protrusions sticking from most buildings, none with any noticeable purpose, barely visible trapdoors (she could have hidden them better), doors to nowhere, cloth walls, and many more things that served to make this city even less sensical than Sneak's capital, where at least she knew what everything was for.

And there was the palace.

It had even more pointless protrusions than any building she'd seen before, along with oddly shaped and placed windows and staircases that seemed to go nowhere, doors to outside on the second, third, or even fourth floors without terraces to keep people from falling to their death, things that looked like mirrors but were actually windows (Sabrina recognized them from home), and hanging from the flagpole was what looked like a giant chicken made out of something floppy and stretchy that she'd never seen before.

"What's that?" she asked the guard on her left. She'd been studying Trickster in her spare time in the month since she'd found out she'd be coming to visit, but she hadn't learned nearly enough, and she had no idea what the material of the chicken was.

"I think they call it 'rubber', the guard told her. "It's very stretchy. They invented it for gags."

Sabrina made and said, "You'd think they'd try inventing things that are useful. I can think of at least twenty things I'd do with something waterproof and stretchy, and none of them include replacing my flag with it."

"That's how these people are, unfortunately," the captain of the guard said, riding up next to Sabrina. "They're incredibly smart and inventive, but they use their talents to create things to amuse themselves, not to better the world. It's one of their chief ways of making money, though. Someone tells them that they'd like the invention, and then they sell it for an incredibly high price. They call it a patent."

"That is clever," Sabrina admitted.

The captain of the guard was one of her grandmother's oldest and closest friends. He had some incredible dangerous secret that only her grandmother knew, and some of the best sneaks in the kingdom had spent decades trying to discover it. He was, like most of the guard, not built like a typical soldier, but instead was a long, narrow, angular old man with a shock of pure white hair that looked a little like a fire on his head. His cheekbones stuck out from the cheeks themselves and his nose was big, hooked, and crooked. His eyebrows were equally white tufts above his face, and his long narrow fingers were always clad in black wolfskin gloves. He had been captain of the guard for as long as anyone could remember, and it was said that he'd learned his skills from the warrior masters of the far east, and that only the hand-to-hand combat trainer, a beautiful woman who had come to Sneak from Magica, could beat him in anything.

"Brilliant, they are," the captain agreed. "All of them. And tricky. You'll have to watch yourself, your majesty. The young king isn't likely to have taken any more of a shine to this marriage than you, and he'll want to make you look like a fool."

Sabrina was a bit taken aback at how much the captain was talking, but she didn't want to interrupt him to point this out. He was a smart man, and when he spoke, it was always something worth listening to.

"What should I do to keep from letting him have one over on me?" she asked instead.

"Always be on guard," the captain told her. "Look out for traps, you know what they look like, and don't eat anything not straight from the kitchen. And never let your emotions show. As if this were a mission."

Sabrina took a deep breath an nodded. She could do most of that. The emotional control was her weak point, but she'd work on it. She would not let this 'king' come out on top of her.

They'd arrived at the palace gate, and a series of small mammals in red vests and hats came up, holding their hands forward, Sabrina looked at them curiously for a second before remembering that the Sneaks trained animals to do their work for them, lazy people that they were. These must be the hostlers. She dismounted and handed her reigns to the lead monkey, giving her horse a goodbye pat. It would be staying with her in Sneak, thankfully.

She began her trek across the castle's main court, head held high but eyes on the ground, watching for odd stones that might launch something. She'd seen the way the monkeys and things walked, sliding across the stones closest to the walls and skipping some altogether with careful, practiced steps. She wouldn't be caught so easily as that. There was one to her left that wobbled a bit in the breeze, and another straight ahead that shone too brightly to be an ordinary flagstone. She stepped over them both, and continued across the courtyard that way, making it to the grand staircase without a mishap.

The staircase itself was riddled with several more tripwires and such designed to turn the steps into a slide. Sabrina had never understood the point of steps that became slides, but she wasn't expecting things here to have a purpose, so she just rolled her eyes and stepped over them. It seemed a lot of work for a main entrance. Did they all go around and use side doors?

And then, without realizing how she'd gotten there, she was at the top of the stairs, and the first human servant she'd seen since Sneak was announcing her entrance, and she was on her way through the crowd of Tricksters to see her future husband.

* * *

><p>"What's taking them so long?" Puck asked, leaning over the side of his throne to dangle his fingers against the floor.<p>

"Puck, sit up!" Titania ordered. "What will your subjects think of you?"

Puck gave his mother an incredulous look. Most of his subjects were doing equally stupid-looking things, and none of them cared enough for propriety to want their king to sit straight for hours just to look regal. But he sat up anyway, heaving a pointed sigh.

"They're not scheduled to be here for another twenty minutes," Mustardseed told him. "But I believe their horses have just arrived.

"How do you know?" Puck asked.

"I have a view out the window that you don't," Mustardseed pointed out.

This was true enough. The main throne was at least three feet wide, probably wider if one counted the armrests, and there was a good foot between it and the two surrounding chairs where Mustardseed and Titania sat, and Puck's throne was directly in the center of the room, so he didn't have a very good view out anything other than the doors.

It was just one more thing in a long list of what he hated about what his mother had done to the throne room. When his grandfather had been king, the throne room had been a pile of garbage that the Tricksters made themselves at home in, and the throne itself had been an old privy on top of the largest stack of junk. When she became queen, though, Titania cleaned every inch of the castle of Trickster with her magical servants, and installed a set of large, ornate, golden chairs encrusted with gems, which she insisted were far more appropriate for a castle. She also put in marble floors, stained glass windows, paintings of angels on the ceiling, and tapestries on the walls.

Puck, and most of Trickster, hated it all, and made a habit of sewing beards onto the ladies in the tapestries and breaking the windows.

Titania, or her servants, always cleaned them up.

It was an everlasting, silent battle, the ruler with her new ideas against her subjects, who all were trying to remind her that this was a kingdom that was supposed to be something different, someplace safe for them to be who they were. Deep down, maybe they knew that she might have a point, and that maybe the world was changing and they ought to have at least some ability to function with it, but they would scream and kick and bite until the very end to keep their laziness and filth and jokes while they changed the rest of the way.

Puck chuckled to himself at his poetic thoughts and shook them loose, returning to the boredom he felt with this stupid fancy clean ballroom and the strangely clean Tricksters from all corners of his country in their fancy clothes, because even lazy people like to dress nice once in a while, and the fact that he had to sit there and wait for a girl he didn't want to marry to take her sweet time to show up so that he could be polite to her to prove to his mother that he could because he was mature enough to be king.

The horn played the tune that meant a stranger was coming, and then the steward was calling, "Her Majesty Sabrina Grimm, Queen of the Sneaks!"

Puck leaned forward for his first glimpse of her, and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. She was a petite thing, dressed in a blue gown that... was it split down the center? No, it was pants. She was wearing pants, blue pants that had so much cloth they looked like a draping skirt that went down to her ankles. Underneath the pants she wore practical brown leather shoes, and her bodice was tight-fitting. Her hair was set in a series of braids that tied it back out of her face, and her eyes were fierce, and angry blue, under thin brows that were as blonde as her hair. She wore no face paint. He guessed that if he could see her hands, they'd have callouses.

Every inch of her was a Sneak, his polar opposite. Practicality disguised in beauty, and, if the Scholar was right, she'd have at least three weapons on her somewhere. So what if she was pretty, with that delicate look about her and that long blonde hair? She was designed to work, to deceive.

But at least she was pretty.

She had walked up to the daïs, and he was a little disappointed she and all her entourage had made it past all the traps in the courtyard to stare at him with that deceptively pretty face. He'd have to remember that it was a lie the whole time he was talking to her, otherwise he'd start flirting with her, and he couldn't flirt with the enemy. But now it was time to meet her.

* * *

><p>Sabrina gave the Trickster King an appraising look. He lounged on his huge golden throne with an apparent ease, telling everyone who looked at him that he was ruler here, and he knew it, but she could see the discomfort. He didn't like the chair, he didn't like the room, he didn't like the clothes, and he didn't like her. She smirked. Good. She wanted him to be uncomfortable.<p>

He was handsome enough, she supposed. And he knew it. His hair was three shades closer to gold than hers was, and curly, he had a strong jaw with the beginnings of a beard, his nose was straight, he was tall, and his eyes shifted between blue and green while she watched, settling at a bright aqua.

_I bet girls look into those eyes and lose themselves,_ she thought at him. _And you let them, don't you? You love it. You thrive on attention._

She almost smiled at him. He wouldn't be getting anything from her because of those eyes. He was nothing compared to Bradley.

"Greetings," Titania said, and Sabrina looked over at her, sitting on the right side of the throne, in a chair almost as ornate.

Sabrina curtsy-bowed, pulling the edges of her pants out as she did so. "Thank you for welcoming me to your home, Titania," she said, using her best diplomacy. People were easier to handle if they trusted you.

"You are most welcome," Titania responded, equally polite. "All of you are welcome for as long as you wish to stay," she continued, addressing the rest of the party.

"Thank you, your majesty," Daphne said, stepping forward, "But we request only to impose on you for one night, then we shall be on our way. My grandmother is most anxious to have us safely home."

"Of course, I understand completely," Titania said, giving Daphne a smile that almost showed a trace of real warmth. She stood and, tugging on her son's sleeve so he stood with her, said, "May I present my elder son, Puck, the Trickster King?"

He gave a lazy bow, that she was sure he knew was nowhere near deep enough for a visiting lord, let alone another monarch, and smirked at her. She gave him her best water-off-a-duck's-back (a phrase her grandmother used which meant 'you don't affect me') smile and curtsied again, equally shallow.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm sure," She murmured, her voice demure but her expression direct. This was her game, and she would win it, and she wanted him to know it.

His smirk just got bigger, which was a little infuriating, but she didn't let it bother her, even as he said, "Welcome to our kingdom, fiancée. Your reputation doesn't do you credit."

Sabrina took note of the use of the royal we and his comment, which she was certain was meant to be an insult, and filed them away to rant to Daphne about later, but simply said, "I wasn't aware my reputation had preceded me."

"Oh yes," Puck said, his eyes sparkling. "I've heard a great deal about you."

Yes, it was definitely meant to be an insult. But she would not be insulted. At least, not where he could see. "You shall have to tell me all about what you've heard later, when we're alone. I'd hate to think you know more about me than I do about myself."

"I will," he promised, and smirked.

She grinned back at him, thinking, _Oh, you think you're so brilliant. Just you wait._

"And this is my younger son, Mustardseed," Titania said, in a voice that, to those who were listening carefully (the Sneaks), suggested that she was reading between the lines of Sabrina and Puck's conversation, and felt she ought to intervene before they strangled each other.

Mustardseed gave her a perfectly polite bow and, with a smile that was genuine, as far as Sabrina could tell, said, "I hope you shall enjoy your sojourn with us, your Majesty."

"I hope so as well," Sabrina said, keeping herself from saying, as she desperately wanted to, that having people like him around would make it far easier.

He smiled and said, "I shall endeavor to assist your transition in any way."

Sabrina knew it would be dangerous for everything everyone wanted if she said anymore, so she just smiled and nodded. Why couldn't he be the one she was supposed to marry? she wondered, then reminded herself that there were reasons, and there was no sense griping about it.

"Do you have anything to say to your future subjects?" Titania prompted.

_Don't kill me please?_ she thought jokingly. But what she said when she turned to face them was, "Thank you for accepting me as your future queen. I hope we'll learn to get along with each other. I'll try if you will." She'd discussed it with Granny, and then with the captain of the guard, and they'd decided it was best to be frank with the people of Trickster. The weren't involved with court games, and she wanted them to like her, and Tricksters valued honesty.

Surprisingly, she got a round of applause, albeit a short one. It was still more than she'd been expecting. She curtsied for them.

"Well, shall we retire?" Titania asked, "I believe the orangutans have prepared a feast."

"Let us, then," Mustardseed said, offering Daphne his arm.

Daphne took it, and he began escorting her out of the room. Titania looked at the captain of the guard until he offered her his arm, and they headed out, and then Puck mockingly held his arm out to Sabrina. She took it, just barely resting her fingers on his sleeve, which felt rather disgusting (he'd probably rubbed lard into it that morning), and they headed for the banquet hall.

It dawned on Sabrina then that she'd have to sit next to him for the whole meal, and she almost groaned. _I can't wait for tonight to be over._

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><p><strong>AN~ Water off a Duck's Back is one of my dad's sayings. It never seemed like it worked for him, but it stuck in my head as a thing to say.<strong>

**Some review replies:**

Kingsvillereader: **Thanks for the review! I hope I updated soon enough for you.**

Guest: **Thanks. :) I'm glad you like AMaWoS.****  
><strong>

PenguinLoverGurl: **:D Thanks. Idea with the names? You mean giving them all weird names as a prank?**

Not logged in:** Well, thank you. I don't plan to bump the rating, I think it's already at 'T', and I think that would be a bad idea, considering my main readership's age levels. Also I don't plan to go that far, this story, unlike TLWR, my other fic, has a set plot arc, and I plan to stick to that and its thirty or so chapters, so that I can finish it in a timely manner. Maybe for a sequel, though. Or for one of those make-it-up-to-you-all oneshots.**

LuckyLucy:** Thanks for the review! :D**


	6. Passageways

**AN~ And just over a week to update. Pretty good, if I do say so myself. Especially 'cause I went college visiting today, too. I've found where I want to spend my next two years.  
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><p><em>I can't wait for tonight to be over<em>, Puck thought to himself, looking at the girl on his right, who he was supposed to be making polite conversation with.

Sabrina was ignoring him and concentrating only on her food, which he hadn't managed to slip anything disgusting into, unfortunately. Tomorrow he would, though. Tomorrow was the true banquet, when everyone would get a chance to meet and talk with their future queen. Titania had just set tonight up to warm everyone up for the real party. And that was when he would embarrass her so much she'd have to go home.

And she just sat there, oblivious and against everything he stood for, with her practical clothes and her sneaking and her diplomacy and lies. He hated everything about her.

"Goodness, Puck, stop stewing," Mustardseed whispered to him. "Maybe if you tried to talk with the girl, you'd find you didn't hate her as much as you think you do."

"I won't," Puck muttered, "because there's nothing about her personality I'll like."

"You have to marry her, you know," Mustardseed said, "And life will be much easier if you can at least have a civil conversation with her, since you'll see her every day for the rest of your life.

"We can have separate bedrooms," Puck said, "And we'll both have to rule our own kingdoms. I think I can manage to marry her without seeing her more than a few times a month.

"I can hear everything you're saying, you know," a girl's voice interrupted their conversation. Hers.

Puck muttered a curse under his breath. Sneaks and their horrific ability to hear whispers. He should be able to have a private conversation at the dinner table next to her without her hearing. Or worse, interrupting.

"My apologies for my brother, madam," Mustardseed said, and Puck got the distinct feeling he'd have bowed if he wasn't sitting. "My brother isn't known for his manners. Very few people here are. Perhaps if he apologized as well-"

"No," she said, cutting him off, "I find that I am in complete agreement with your brother, oddly enough. It sounds like a perfectly good way to manage our marriage."

"That'll be the only time we ever agree on anything," Puck said, thinking that they weren't actually in agreement. He had no plans to go through with the marriage at all. He just had to drive her to be the one to give in, 'cause he wasn't going to be the first to call it quits.

"Would you please just attempt it?" Mustardseed asked wearily.

"No," Puck said, though he did admit to himself that some conversation might have been nice.

"Certainly not," Sabrina said, and Puck shuddered at that pompous sentence.

"Well, I won't be talking with you unless you make an honest attempt at conversation with this woman, Puck," Mustardseed said, with the air of a parent administering one of those 'you brought this on yourself, please make a smart decision' punishments.

"Fine," Puck muttered, stabbing his beef with a fork, "I didn't want to talk to you anyway."

Sabrina made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a smothered condescending laugh, and he stabbed his beef again, pretending it was her.

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><p>"I can't believe him!" Sabrina shrieked to her sister, alone with her in the rooms she'd been given, after the banquet that night. "Acting like he's the best thing since the bathouse, mocking me to my face, being so irritatingly full of himself-" She punched her pillow fiercely. "I can't marry him."<p>

"Are you going to back out, then?" Daphne asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and playing with the curtains that surrounded it.

"Of course not!" Sabrina exclaimed. "I won't back out a second before he does. And this is too important. But I..." she collapsed against the elaborate headboard that featured carvings of furry-legged men throwing fruit at each other and said, the fight going out of her, "I don't know how I'll spend the rest of my life with this... boy."

Daphne put her hand on her sister's shoulder and said, "You'll manage. You always do."

"This is harder than all the other things I've managed with," Sabrina whispered. "I have to do this alone. And it's so... final."

"I could probably poison him for you," Daphne offered.

Sabrina shook her head, an unhappy smile on her face, and said, "Don't think I haven't considered it. Granny would know. And she'd never forgive us."

"A valid point," Daphne said. "Do you mind if I go to bed, Sabrina? I've got a long day tomorrow. So do you, for that matter."

"No, go, it's all right," Sabrina said, waving at her sister. "I've gotten it out, mostly. How early are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Dawn, or sooner," Daphne said.

"I won't be up, then," Sabrina said, sighing. "I won't get to see everyone off."

"That's probably better," Daphne suggested. "It'll make you seem more like one of them and less like one of us."

"Won't they think you're running off if you leave that early?" Sabrina asked.

Daphne shrugged and gave her a mischievous grin. "We're Sneaks. They expect us to sneak. So we will."

Sabrina gave her sister a hug and said, "Write me."

"Of course," Daphne said, squeezing Sabrina in return. "As long as you write me back. In detail."

"I promise," Sabrina said, watching as her sister left the room, a little forlorn. She wouldn't see her again for months.

She lay down on the bed without closing the curtains or changing out of her pant-dress, fairly certain that her night wouldn't be a restful one. She was normally restless in a new place, until she learned her way around and knew all the secrets, but she was doubly aware here, in a place where people would be trying their hardest to pull one over on her, to prove that tricks beat sneaks.

She sat up again and pushed herself off the bed, deciding that it would be best if she did a round of the room to look for ways for certain Trickster boys to find their way in. She started with the walls, running her hands over them and knocking as she went, searching for hollow spaces and seams. Sure enough, she found a door. She wasn't going to open it, though. That was just idiotic. So she moved her wardrobe in front of it and continued her search.

In the end, she found two secret doors in the walls, three in the floor, and one in the ceiling, all hidden by medallions or depressions built into the plaster of the room. She put furniture in front of all but that last, which she couldn't block, and instead hung a string of bells to it, so she'd hear if it opened. She then proceeded to enter the attached dressing room, with its mirrors and rows of clothing rack and small private bathouse, to change into her nightclothes.

She was feeling confident in having found everything in her bedroom, so she didn't pay attention when she opened the door, and was surprised with a shower of white paint falling from the door as she pushed it open. She bit back a shriek as she jumped back, and the bucket that had held the paint came crashing down.

Of course. She was foolish for thinking she'd escape unscathed, even for one night. She'd have to find a way to change her locks, or, even better, ask for a new room. She stripped out of her paint-drenched clothes and poured water from the pitcher to the basin. Her bathouse was a nice one, but it didn't have running water the way many of the ones in the palace of Sneak did. She'd have to ask for someone to bring up buckets to fill her tub if she wanted to get really clean.

But it was getting on eleven, and she didn't want to wake anyone up, even if it was just their trained monkeys. And besides, it was embarrassing. So she cleaned herself as best she could with the water that was in the pitcher, and dumped the excess water, along with her ruined clothes, down her privy. She then used the privy and placed her heaviest chest on top of it. She wouldn't put it past these people to climb up to get to her.

She decided then that she would stay in this room. She'd prove that she could take whatever they threw at her. They could not win.

She changed into her loose nightshirt and pantaloons, then went back to her bedroom proper and checked the top of the canopy for booby traps.

She didn't find any, but she did find a chimpanzee. When her head peered over the side, it shrieked at her and then scrambled for the trapdoor, pulling it open and scampering away.

She shook her head and closed the trapdoor, then settled into her bed, which, surprisingly, hadn't been short-sheeted or had anything disgusting dumped into it. If they thought she would be that easy to break, they were in for a surprise.

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><p>The next morning, she woke early (though not early enough to see her sister off) and proceeded to perform her morning exercise routine. She was doing push-ups when her hand slipped on a puddle of something shiny, and she fell to the floor with a thump, coating half of her chest in the oil. She sighed. She had no water left to wash this off with.<p>

She glanced at the bellpull in the corner, debating using it to call in the servants. Sure, it was what it was meant for, and she needed it, but she was fairly certain that the bellpull would either ring a bell somewhere she didn't want it to, or it would dump something disgusting on her. Possibly both.

But she truly did need a bath. She was filthy. And she had no idea where to get the water to make her own bath.

She glanced at the trapdoor. Perhaps she didn't need to chance it. She could solve the problem on her own.

She pulled on her string of bells, opening the trapdoor, and backed out of the way as a rope ladder fell on top of her. She was halfway up it when a swarm of bats flew at her face, shrieking. She ducked out of their way, though they managed to avoid her, and made a face. The monkey hadn't startled any bats. And it had been loud.

So he knew she was coming. Or someone did. Which meant she'd have to watch out for more traps along the way. Wonderful.

She sighed and continued to climb the ladder, ignoring the bats, who were making themselves at home under the canopy of her bed. When she reached the top, sure enough, her nose alerted her to a large pile of something wet and smelly, right in the way of where she needed to go. She avoided it and headed for the corner of the room where the bellpull was. It had also been tampered with, but it now went to two locations, and she could tell which the original was, because the second was tied onto it.

She took a break to look around. She was in a dark crawlspace that extended a good distance in every direction except up- it was only two feet tall. Small enough of a space that it might not be noticed in such a large castle, but large enough to maneuver in. There were strategic chinks in the stone walls that let one see, and the roof was sooty, evidence that torches were used in it at night. The whole place smelled musty, and she could see dust floating about in the beams of light coming through the stones. It felt like the hayloft of a very dirty barn.

She made a face and got down on her knees, wishing she'd put on something practical, or at least decent, to go climbing around in crawlspaces with. But it was too late for that. So she set off down the trail of the bellpull, in search of someone or something that would help her get clean.

About ten minutes into her walk, when her knees began to ache, she almost wished her pride would have let her go out into the hall and search for someone to help, instead of leading her to this place, where she was crawling around in who knew what, getting even more dirty and losing her way completely (that wasn't true, she knew. She could follow the bellpull back to her room. And she could probably follow the new bellpull to that _boy_'s room, if she wanted to get back at him. And it was a useful place that she'd found. There were regular trapdoors, presumably leading to more rooms, and several had their own bellpulls that led in the same direction as hers. And off about twenty yards to her left she could see a stone slide and a ladder. Someone could get around the castle almost completely without being seen if they wanted to, she realized. It was almost as good as the passageways in the Sneak castles. Those, though, placed the passageways between floors through the chimneys, where they were better hidden.

She reached the bellpull's descening point, which, thankfully, was on the same floor (she hadn't been looking forward to going down one of those slides), and opened the trapdoor via a catch on the side, climbing down into the servant's quarters.

Servant's quarters was a loose term. It was a monkey house, almost literally, and the monkeys didn't look too pleased to see her in their home. Except... were they monkeys? They looked a bit small. And some of them had striped tails.

"Excuse me," she said, being as falsely polite as possible, "But I'm in need of a bath, and I was wondering if you could-"

One of the small striped not-monkeys, with a bow on its head, jumped up, squealing, and Sabrina backed away from it, until it became clear that the thing was clapping its hands.

"Will you get a bath for me?" Sabrina asked.

The thing nodded.

"Do you know where my room is?" she asked next.

The thing nodded again and pointed to a labeled bellpull.

"All right, then," Sabrina said. "Do you want help carrying the wash-water?"

The thing shrieked again and shook its head.

"All right then," Sabrina said again, backing up, unnerved by these animals that seemed so clever, "I'll just... go wait in my room, then."

She headed back to her bedroom, grateful to have that over with, and looking forward to the prospect of being clean. She had made it back to her trapdoor when an idea struck her. Why didn't she follow the other rope while she waited for her bath to be prepared? She didn't have to do anything (why would she want to?), but she could listen, and find out who it was that had done those things to her room. She had a suspicion, but she wanted to confirm it before she acted on it, and there was no such thing as too much knowledge.

So she headed off along the second string, following it to the person who had made her first night so irritating.

When she finally reached the point where it went back through the ceiling into someone's bedroom, she smiled, and put her ear over the hole to listen.

It took her a few seconds to still herself enough that she could hear what was going on, and to train her ears to listen for the right noises, but she tuned in just in time to hear someone say, "-And that trick with the chimpanzee? Really, Puck. You're supposed to be more mature than this."

It had been him, then. She was right. That alone was worth coming out to listen for, though she was certain if she listened, she'd hear more.

"Well, what did you expect? You want me to roll over and marry her with no complaints? I didn't want this! And if I have anything to say, I won't have it!" There was a thump, which Sabrina assumed was him punching something.

"What do you plan to do, then?" Mustardseed (at least, she assumed it was Mustardseed, from what she remembered of his voice. She hadn't paid proper attention to it last night. She ought have) asked. "Break it off? It's a bit late for that, she's already here."

"Oh no, that'd be too easy," the other voice, obviously Puck, said. "I won't be the first to give up."

"You plan to drive her to quit?" Mustardseed asked.

"If I have to. I may not have to do anything, considering how the rest of her company reacted to this place. She might get scared and run off on her own. But if it comes down to it, I'll do anything to keep her from agreeing to marry me."

Sabrina sat back up quietly. She'd heard all she needed to hear. Heading back to her room, she thought that it was a little bit insulting that he hated her that much. She might actually have been bothered, if it wasn't for the fact that she hated him just as much.

Back in her room, she stripped and sank into the bath, grateful to finally be clean, and, still musing on what she'd overheard, thought to herself, _Try what you like, princeling. I'll take it all. You'll never break me._

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><p><strong>AN~ What'd you think? Also, question: do you guys want QotDs here?<strong>

**Some review replies:**

someone: **Sure... I guess... It's just what they call makeup.**

kingsvillereader: **Do you have an account? It didn't sound snotty. I mean, I asked. Glad you like it!**

PenguinLoverGurl: **I'm going to have so much fun with this fanfic. You have no idea. Puckabrina is kind of a lame name, though. It's really long. Personally, having a boyfriend with facial hair, it's not that exciting or cute. It itches when we kiss and it looks funny 'cause it's thin and patchy. Well, it's medieval. Rubber technically shouldn't be invented yet, but I really wanted Puck to have put up a rubber chicken in place of the flag. I do NOT ship Daphnerseed. I kind of whore Daphne out (pardon my French) for the most part, but if I had to pick a pairing it would be Daphne/Pinocchio. Puck's definitely going to get her to lose her cool eventually. Today she had the upper hand. Tomorrow not so much.****  
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	7. Between the Lines

**AN~ Sorry it took so long, guys. No excuses. You don't want them. And if you do, you can ask.  
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**QotU: (first one!) What do you plan to be for Halloween? It's coming soon!**

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><p>After Sabrina made herself blissfully clean, she dressed in a simple, practical pleated brown dress that had slits in places that would make it more convenient to run, all hidden by the pleats, green and gold embroidery that hid the seams of the many pockets, and fitted long sleeves (it was getting cold in Trickster, fall was coming sooner in this more northern place than in her seaside home) with more embroidery, and a scooped neckline that was just low enough that she could store things in yet another pocket, and she did so, sticking a corked bottle of ink, a small wooden pen, and a roll of paper into her chest compartment.<p>

She then left her room, opening the door carefully, deciding to go on a scouting expedition to explore as much of Trickster Castle as she could.

Outside her door, though, she was met by one of the few human servants, with his hand raised to knock on the door. They both drew back, Sabrina to avoid being rapped in the face, the man- well, boy, really- looking nervous, as if she might bite him.

"Sorry," Sabrina said, though it ate at her to apologize for anything, "Is there something you wanted?"

"Prince Mustardseed wants you to come to his rooms," the boy said, and something in his expression gave her pause.

She assumed (correctly, it would turn out), that he thought that she and Mustardseed were going behind the Trickster King's back. And, much as she preferred the other boy, she had to turn thoughts like that aside. So she said, falsely cheerful, "Oh, so he is going to give me the tour he promised! Your King was too busy to, but Mustardseed said he'd show me around the palace. Thank you so much. Would you show me to him?"

The servant boy looked taken aback for a second. She wasn't sure if it was her attitude (surprisingly cheerful and peppy), or what she'd said, but she'd successfully thrown him off balance, which was her aim. So she held back a smug smile as he led her through the halls, careful to step only where he stepped.

She missed once, though, right before making it to Mustardseed's room, and the result was that, as he opened his door, it was to the sight of Sabrina ducking as a spray of some gelatinous goop swung at her. She was just barely too slow, and the ends of her hair were suddenly green and sticky, with some large lumps stuck to them. Cursing silently, she stood up and saw Mustardseed staring at her, and she felt her face reddening. Second impression, and already she looked like a fool to one of the only people in this kingdom who she thought she might get along with.

"My apologies, Your Majesty," Mustardseed said, his face carefully blank. "Won't you come in?"

"Yes, thank you," Sabrina said, walking forward with her head held high. She wouldn't look any more the fool if she could help it.

Mustardseed gave the suddenly gleeful servant boy a look, and he scurried off, still with those careful steps, Sabrina hoped to get some rags to clean up that mess, as the prince shut the door.

"You'll have to watch for more of those," Mustardseed said, "Everyone here is fond of setting things like that up. They consider it an art."

Sabrina nodded absently, but her mind wasn't on what the prince was saying, it was on his suite. There were three standard exits here- the one she'd come in through, one that presumably also led to a combination of dressing room and privy, and one would probably lead to a study and his sleeping chamber. This room was a sitting area designed by a woman or someone with feminine tastes- it was painted in cream and blue, with gold-painted trim (and that trim was extensive and complicated, even more intricate than in her rooms). There was a thick rug, presumably made by one of the Persian Artisans, and the wall behind her held two tapestries that hung opposite his large diamond-paned windows overlooking a garden maze. The tapestries depicted scenes of the maze from within. The center of the room was dominated by several blue couches and a table made out of light-colored wood.

"Is something wrong?" Mustardseed asked, pulling Sabrina back to the conversation. She scolded herself. She was supposed to be able to scan a room and still pay attention to conversations.

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong," Sabrina said hurriedly. "I was just looking around. You've got quite a sitting room."

"Yes," Mustardseed said, and his face was carefully neutral as he said, "It used to be my mother's quarters, for when she needed space from my father. Now that he's... well. She no longer needs a retreat."

So his tastes didn't lie in the opulence his mother's did. That was interesting. She wondered why he didn't redecorate.

"Won't you have a seat?" Mustardseed asked.

"Yes, thank you," Sabrina said, smiling as Mustardseed led her to the puffiest of the couches, in front of which were two table settings laden with eggs and toast, and a cup of tea each. She dug in with gusto, realizing how hungry she was as she smelled the food.

Mustardseed ate more slowly, and set his fork and knife down with two pieces of toast left. He waited until Sabrina finished, too, and then said, "You know my brother's going to try to drive you away."

"Of course," Sabrina said calmly, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

"You- oh," Mustardseed said, taken aback.

"Well, it only makes sense," Sabrina said, deciding not to tell him about her explore that morning, "But I'd like to not make it so easy for him, you know? I... I hate to ask this so soon, your highness, but... do you suppose I could be moved to a different room? One with less entrances?"

"Less... entrances?" Mustardseed asked, his face confused.

"Counting the windows, there are twelve ways into my rooms," Sabrina told him, "and most of the mirrors in my dressing room are one-sided, meaning there is a passage behind them that people could use to spy on me. That makes it a bit too easy for your brother, wouldn't you agree?"

Mustardseed, looking at her with wide eyes, said, "Goodness. I had no idea. How do _you_ know this?"

Sabrina winked at him and said, "Trade secret."

"Well, certainly I'll have you moved," Mustardseed said, "But... if your room is that complex, all the other rooms in our palace could be the same. We could be being spied on now, and we wouldn't know."

"We're not," Sabrina said, "but I'd wager there are at least two entrances to this room you don't know about, and more in your other private chambers."

"You know a good deal, don't you?" Mustardseed said, giving her an appraising look.

"It's my job to know," Sabrina said, proud that she'd worked her way higher in his estimation. She had a feeling this was a person whose good opinion she wanted to have.

"What else do you know?" Mustardseed asked, and he sounded genuinely interested, not as if he was testing her.

"I know that your mother plans to send us on a progress this spring, while she stays here to run the kingdom, so your subjects get used to me and you get to gauge your people's opinions, but that we won't be leaving until April twenty-first, because your winters are harsh. I know that your mother also plans to fill the time before we leave with a succession of balls and parties so that the people here in the city will get used to me, and, if we're extremely lucky, begin to accept me, so that the country will follow their lead. I know that you and your mother are the true power behind the throne, but that you'll never be allowed to rule unless Puck dies a truly natural death soon, because you wouldn't be accepted. You're both too much like Magicians for the Tricksters' liking." Sabrina stopped, deciding that that was enough information to share for the moment.

"Anything else?" Mustardseed asked, looking a bit dumbfounded.

"I can't tell you _all_ your secrets," Sabrina told him, teasing. "Then you'd go make new ones, and I'd have to go to the trouble of finding them out all over again."

"Yes, well, good point, I suppose," Mustardseed said. "What if... what if we reached an agreement? In exchange for me making it so you didn't have to eavesdrop to know my secrets, you ascertained how safe my room is. And perhaps my mother's, and my brother's. We don't want any assasins coming along to do to our rulers what's been done to-" He stopped.

"Done to my kingdom's?" Sabrina finished his sentence for him. "Yes, well, it sounds acceptable. You might want to check behind the tapestries first. That's a perfect place to hide a doorway, and almost nobody ever takes them down."

Mustardseed gave her a confused look, but obligingly got up and pulled back the closer tapestry. Sure enough, behind it there was an ill-concealed door. This time the look he gave her was astounded.

Sabrina smirked at him and said, "There's a rumor floating around Sneak that my parents were removed from the equation in order to weaken the rulership of Sneak and make it easier to take over. It backfired. I'm the best of the Sneaks. And what I lack in experience I make up for with good advisers. I know what I'm about, your highness. Please stop underestimating me."

"Yes, I think I shall," Mustardseed said softly.

* * *

><p>It took the rest of the morning for Mustardseed to find an unused set of rooms worthy of a visiting monarch and a future Trickster Queen that satisfied Sabrina's desire for privacy and security. After they'd reached a conclusion there, Sabrina was going to go explore the palace a bit, but she was summoned to Titania's rooms for luncheon, and she quickly braided her hair in a way that wouldn't show the green goop she hadn't had a chance to remove yet, placing some weights in it so that she could use it as a weapon if she had to, and went to dine with the queen.<p>

"How are you finding Trickster, Sabrina?" Titania asked, sipping a cup of tea while Sabrina settled herself.

"I haven't seen enough to make a proper decision," Sabrina said carefully, "But what I have seen is fascinating." That was true enough. She didn't believe she wanted to live here for the rest of her life, but it was extremely interesting.

"Well, I hope you'll find it to your tastes," Titania said, and there was an implied _or I'll know why_ that made Sabrina think that she perhaps didn't want to tell Titania if she didn't like it.

Titania's set of rooms was even more opulent than Mustardseed's had been, done up in gold and red and mahogany, with a small private sitting room, a large one, a bedchamber, two dressing rooms, a privy, a bathouse, a study, and a library. Thick velvet curtains framed the windows, and there were frescoes on all the walls that weren't covered in expensive tapestries or thick-framed portraits of stern-looking dead people.

It was a Sneak's nightmare. Sabrina could only imagine how hard any bodyguard of Titania's might have to work: how many exits to check, how alert he'd have to be- and of course he wouldn't be allowed in her bedchamber, but there would be just as many dangerous unknowns there.

"Yes, well, I'll certainly tell you once I've seen more of it," Sabrina said, referring to Titania's desire for her opinion of Trickster again.

"Good," Titania said with a tight smile. "My son tells me you've been moved to a different suite. Why, may I ask?"

"I wanted more security," Sabrina said, taking a sip of tea, "and these new rooms give me that. Surely you understand?"

"Yes, of course," Titania said, nibbling delicately on one of a collection of small triangular sandwiches on a green-and-white china platter.

It was Sabrina's turn to pick a subject for conversation. Hopefully this one would last longer than three sentences. "There's to be a ball tonight, yes?"

"Yes, at seven," Titania said, "A servant will be sent to fetch you in time for the feast, though. And if you wish, you may join me for tea beforehand."

"Thank you, but I believe I'll be rather busy unpacking," Sabrina said with a careful smile. Go through another stilted conversation like this one? No thank you! "I'd only gotten a few things out last night, and now that I'm in a new room..."

"Yes, of course, I understand," Titania said, nodding. Sabrina detected the slightest amount of relief visible on her face.

"I understand there's also going to be a festival?" Sabrina asked, placing a small sandwich in her mouth and wishing for some real food.

"Yes, and there you can meet some of the common citizens," Titania said. "The balls won't allow you to do that, but the harvest festival will."

"Well, that sounds lovely," Sabrina said with a false smile that masked her thoughts: _I don't think I want to meet anyone from Trickster._

"Another sandwich?" Titania asked.

"Yes, please," Sabrina said. Any food was welcome.

Titania handed Sabrina a sandwich, and while she was munching on it, the older woman filled her teacup again. Sabrina supposed this delicate food had come from Magica, because she couldn't imagine that Tricksters would confine themselves to this fare, unless it was to fool foreigners like her.

"How is your grandmother?" Titania asked.

"She's well, thank you," Sabrina said, swallowing her sandwich, "her joints ache a bit with the change of seasons, but she says she's used to it by now."

"Ah," Titania said with a small smile. "And your sister? How are her studies going?"

"She's begun learning about Magica," Sabrina said, "and it fascinates her."

"I can understand that," Titania said with a smile.

"Do you miss your homeland?" Sabrina asked, picking up her teacup in hopes that she could ward off hunger with the liquid.

"Of course," Titania said, "everyone misses their home. But I still write my friends there, and they visit occasionally. I can't visit, of course."

Sabrina, sensing that she'd finally found a subject that Titania would actually converse about, seized it and said, "I hear it's very beautiful there."

"Yes," Titania said, her eyes getting wistful, "You've never seen a sunrise 'til you've seen it in the mountains. The air is clearer there, and the colors are more intense. And the snow, and the treeline... It's a wonderful place."

Sabrina had never actually seen a sunrise, not a real one. The cliffs surrounding Sneak in a vague semi-circle from the northwestern border to the southeast meant that it got light far before the sun came up. But she doubted that the mountains could have a sunset more beautiful than that great red globe sinking down into the sparkling ocean. She didn't mention that, of course. Instead, she said, "I'd like to see it someday. If..."

Titania came out of her reverie and said, "Yes, well, we all hope things don't turn out too badly. Now, if you'll excuse me, Sabrina, I have a meeting to attend."

"Yes, of course," Sabrina said, snatching two last sandwiches and slipping them into one of her pockets as she stood, "Thank you for inviting me. I'm sorry to have kept you."

"It's no problem," Titania said, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes as she ushered Sabrina out the door. "I shall see you this evening."

Sabrina nodded with an equally false smile and left, heading back to her room carefully, watching her steps the whole way. Why had Titania invited her if she wasn't going to make an effort to _talk_? It was just rude!

She was so busy fuming about Titania's behavior that she forgot to pay attention to where she was going, until she felt a tripwire catch on her shoe, and suddenly a swarm of spiders was released from the far side of the wall. Large, fuzzy spiders. She shuddered and ran down the hallway, probably setting off more traps as she went, but not caring, the separate pieces of her pleated skirt flying away from her legs in all directions as she ran desperately to avoid the spiders, which, thankfully, didn't follow her.

She got turned around during her run, and it took her a long while to find her way back to her rooms, because, after that incident, she was very careful about how she stepped. Finally, she made it to her new rooms and leaned against the inside of the door with a relieved sigh.

Her new rooms were on the floor above her old ones, and they were a pink opulence that matched the rest of the castle that she'd seen (unfortunately), but they only had three hidden doors- one in the ceiling, one in the floor, and one behind a portrait of an amused-looking blonde girl on the far wall. She had no closet, but her dressing room was large enough to make up for that, and- praise all deities, the rose-painted enamel bathtub was full of steaming water.

After she cleaned herself again, Sabrina dressed in a specially designed corset which allowed complete freedom of movement, didn't constrict her, and had enough metal rods in it to keep her from being stabbed no matter what, a breastband with a built-in pocket, a short pair of breeches with more pockets, and a long pair of pretty gloves with grips.

Then she unpacked, which took the rest of the afternoon. She'd just finished getting into her dress- a large pink thing with a number of bows, pockets in odd places such as its puffed sleeves, and an enormous hoopskirt with a new design that would allow it to fold up easily if she needed to fit through a tight space (like her door) when the same young servant boy from before came and knocked on her door.

She took a deep breath before opening the door. It was time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ <strong>

**Some review replies:**

Athena: **Waiting forever for it? How? What? Also I don't remember what I said about other stories, could you refresh my memory?**

Book Geek: **Thanks!**

Dunwannalogin: **You're one in a long line of people to suggest that. I'll tell you what I told them: There are two reasons it can't be Pinocchio. 1) He's a stick in the mud who would never like Trickster. 2) I have Plans for him.**

Nello Orella: **Why do you have PMs shut off? I was going to respond to your nice long review in one, but now I have to do it here. If you see any more of the super-complex sentences in the future, could you copy-paste them into a review for me so I know which ones to fix when I edit? You have a point about Puck. I'm going to pretend it's on purpose because of the alternate universe and because he's sixteen here, not eleven, but I may make his immaturities shine through a bit more. The plans-and-stuff for pranks _are_ on purpose, though, because his pranks are so complex that he _has_ to make plans for them, otherwise they couldn't exist. Even in the books a lot of them are like that.**

PenguinLoverGurl: **All right. QotDs. :) I doubt they wear pillow shoes. The trapdoors have ladders. How's your dad doing?**

kingsvillereader: **I thought I'd looked you up and not found you. Huh. Thanks!**


	8. Ball

**AN~ Well, this was fun to write. It's a bit short, and I apologize, but that was the end. I had nothing more to add.  
><strong>

**QotU: What will Puck to do Sabrina next? He's got to have something big planned.  
><strong>

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><p>Dinner was wonderful. Sabrina would give Trickster that. They did know how to cook, or at least they knew how to train orangutans to cook.<p>

The conversation was horrible, though, and the ball after dinner was even worse. All the men were immature, doing little things like pulling the women's hair and laughing, or spilling things on each other on purpose, or tripping people, or removing pants. And they were better than the women.

Trickster women seemed, from what Sabrina was picking up, to spend their entire lives getting revenge on others for slights, real or imagined. They apparently thought up long and complicated pranks for everything that had ever been done wrong to them, and they were all extremely uptight. Sabrina hoped the common women weren't like that. Even the men's petty jokes were preferable to this... cattiness.

Unfortunately, the men were very difficult to talk to, and she didn't want to dance with any of them (it would be hard in such a large dress, also) so Sabrina had found herself standing in a corner of the room by a bowl of punch and a monkey serving it, talking with two ladies of the court, one named Peaseblossom and the other, of all things, Moth.

Sabrina supposed that it was probably irritating that your parents chose to name you after a plant as a joke. But an insect? That was just cruel. And maybe it explained why this young lady was more horrid than any of the others she'd met, and, like so many of them, infatuated with the Trickster King.

Perhaps that was why she was so intent on making Sabrina look idiotic. That attempt, of course, was why Sabrina had stayed here so long. She'd seen a challenge, and, like always, risen to it. She could never let anyone get the best of her.

At the moment, Moth was saying, "You don't seem very Sneak-like."

Sabrina could have pointed out that that was sort of the point, because it was hard to be a spy if everyone knew that's what she was, or she could have asked what Moth knew about Sneak, since it seemed like she lived in a little bubble of petty problems, but all she said was, "How so?"

"Well, your dress, for one thing," Moth said, gesturing to the pink monstrosity. "It's so big and bulky and ostentatious. How can you sneak anywhere in that?"

_Careful oiling, for one thing_, Sabrina thought to herself.

"She has a point," Peaseblossom said, sipping her punch daintily.

Sabrina didn't really want to share her secrets with these two vapid girls, but what choice did she have, truly? So she said, "Well, you see, it's actually incredibly easy to run in a hoopskirt, because there's nothing getting in the way of my legs." She didn't mention the careful measuring done to make sure it was no wider than it needed to be but that she could still have her full stride.

"Well that's interesting," Peaseblossom said, showing a bit of interest. "But what about if you need to go through small spaces? You do that sort of thing, don't you?"

"Sometimes," Sabrina agreed, ignoring the disdainful tone of her voice, "But the skirt's designed so that it can fold up at a moment's notice. See, I grab the bows here-" she grabbed the bows at her waistline to demonstrate, "And they pull the ribbons on the side of my skirt up, and they're tied to the bows on the bottom, so I can pull the hoopskirt up." She didn't actually pull the skirt up because they were in a ballroom and she didn't want to know what the Trickster's reactions would be to her suddenly visible legs.

"Fascinating," Peaseblossom said, and this time she sounded genuine. "What else have you got up your sleeves?"

Sabrina fingered her puffed sleeves with their three pockets each, noting the irony of the phrase Peaseblossom had used, but said, "Now, if I told you that, Moth would be right that I wasn't much of a Sneak."

Peaseblossom pouted and said, "Come now, don't tease!"

"I'm not," Sabrina said loftily, "I'm witholding information."

"Teasing," Moth said firmly.

Sabrina, who was fairly certain that the girls were just looking to get classified information, gave them a skeptical look and said, "Well, then I'm a tease. My apologies."

"Oh, don't be like that," Peaseblossom protested.

Sabrina shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, but they seamstresses will be simply furious if I give away their secrets."

Before the two girls could wheedle any more information out of her, Mustardseed and Puck appeared next to Sabrina, Mustardseed with a firm and mostly hidden hand on Puck's elbow, presumably trying to force him over without causing a scene.

"Lady Peaseblossom, would you like to dance?" Mustardseed asked gallantly, bowing to the girl on the left.

Peaseblossom giggled and said, "I'd love to." She gave Moth a 'secretive' excited look.

They all just stood there for a second, Moth looking hopeful, Peaseblossom confused, and Puck sullen, until Mustardseed elbowed his brother in the side, and Puck muttered, "Would you like to dance, your Majesty?"

"I'd be honored," Sabrina said, keeping her tone carefully flat and scanning him up and down, searching for pranks hidden in his pockets.

She saw nothing, but that was no promise, so she was very tentative when she placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor. He proceeded to step on her toes as many times as possible without making it look purposeful (she knew it was anyway, she'd seen him dancing with his mother earlier, and he'd looked positively graceful) while holding her as far away from himself as he could. She avoided most of his steps toward her toes and concentrated on making her own dancing as smooth as possible. She didn't particularly like to dance, but it had been part of her training, and she'd done fairly well.

All was going as well as could be expected until Puck led her to the center of the room and, with a gleam in his eye, stumbled at just the right time that he pushed her into a lord, and the lord stepped out of the way nimbly, dumping a large vial of green goo all down the front of her dress as she windmilled her arms in an attempt to keep from falling into the partner of the man who'd just ruined her dress.

Dripping with goop and spitting, she pushed her filthy (again) hair out of her face and glared at Puck, her face reddening as she realized they'd gotten an audience. That's what he'd been waiting for. The largest crowd. And oh, how she hated to be the center of attention.

She was too angry to slink off and change, or to wait, so she glared at the Trickster King fiercely as he laughed that wild, immature laugh that seemed to be the national anthem of this country. Then she took two steps forward and slapped him fiercely across the face, knocking his laugh away with a few drops of spittle. When he turned around to face her again, she glared murder at him and whispered, "You will pay for that, _your majesty_. You will pay every single day for the rest of our lives. I'll make sure of it." Then she punched him in the gut, a good punch, one her teachers would have been proud of, and stalked out of the ballroom without another word.

By the time she'd reached her room, the chimpanzee had already drawn her another bath. She decided not to waste time trying to find out how she'd known and just appreciate the opportunity to be clean. She washed her hair for the third time that day, dried it with a fluffy towel, and put on a much smaller, less obtrusive dress, almost plain but sleek and slit down the side, with more pockets than she'd bothered to count and a big sash made of a very strong, very long ribbon. Then she braided her hair with shining spikes and headed back for the ballroom.

When she reached it, though, she decided against using the main entrance. She'd had more than enough of people staring at her for one night, so she walked to a nearby window, because she knew the ballroom had a balcony. Sliding the window open, she untied her sash and wrapped it around the clasp, using it as a rope to lever herself down the wall. It was a bit of work to loosen it once she'd reached the ground, but she did, and retied it around her waist with a practiced gesture. Then she headed for the balcony, which had a trellis leading to it, so she wouldn't even need her sash again.

She was almost at the top and ready to climb onto the balcony itself when the door opened, letting the sound of the party flow out for a second, and then closed. Two sets of footsteps crossed the slate floor.

Sabrina let out a silent sigh and released the trellis with one hand to fumble with her sash, untying it. They'd sat down. Two women, from the sound. And it seemed like they were planning on being here a while, so she'd best secure herself in case her arms got tired.

"Can you believe her?" one voice said- Moth.

The responder- Peaseblossom, unsurprisingly- said, "Yes, striking the king! So daring!"

"Not that, you goose!" Moth snapped, "The idea that she would take my man so openly, and then not be appreciative at all! She looked like she didn't even want to dance with him!"

"Was he your man, then?" Peaseblossom asked, "I thought he was too busy flirting with everyone to be one lady's man. Although there was that one commoner who he showed an interest in..."

"No, he was simply playing hard to get, Pease! I know these things!" Moth snapped. "And he would have stopped soon, if it weren't for _her_."

"It's an arranged marriage, though," Peaseblossom said, "Isn't it? They're doing it to make an alliance between Sneak and Trickster. Something about a war..."

"It's just an excuse!" Moth snapped. "She's trying to steal him from under me!"

"I thought she didn't want to dance with him..." Peaseblossom said, sounding confused.

Sabrina, who had tied a sling to the trellis out of her sash and was sitting on it, kicking her feet to keep her blood circulating, had to stifle a laugh. She'd seen the look the Trickster King had given Moth, and it was no sweeter than any he'd given the other girls. If anything, it was less sweet. She'd seen him flirt with quite a few women, mostly by tricking someone nearby and winking at them. She didn't know much about Trickster courting habits, but she did know that her fiance wouldn't be interested in Moth even if she wasn't around. These two ladies were ridiculous.

"I know!" Moth said, responding to Peaseblossom, "She got the handsomest man in the kingdom, and she doesn't even want him! It's an outrage!"

"So what are you going to do about it?" Peaseblossom asked.

"Remove her from the equation," Moth said, voice intense. "Then nothing will be between me and Puck."

_Except for his complete lack of interest_, Sabrina thought with amusement. Then she dropped her smile and began thinking about the real problem of an unknown quantity with a desire to kill, maim, or drive her away. She puzzled over it for another fifteen minutes while the two girls switched to talking about how so-and-so had ruined their tea party and needed to pay, and, finally, went inside.

She untied her sash hurriedly and clambered to the balcony, tying the ribbon back around her waist, and, waiting in the shadows until she was sure nobody was watching, she slipped into the ballroom. She hung around in the shadows for the rest of the evening, making the best possible use of her hiding-in-plain-sight training, and then, when people began to leave, she headed for the doors casually, and waited by them until Moth and Peaseblossom left.

She let four more people go by, and then she left, following Moth at a careful distance, hoping that this insane young woman was staying in the palace and not outside it. She was good, but she wasn't sure she was good enough to follow her through the city in the middle of the night without being noticed or missed by someone.

Thankfully, Moth was actually being housed very near the ballroom, and, ever so conveniently, on the same hallway as Sabrina, so she could simply walk right past as if she hadn't been following the pretty, refined blonde at all, but simply going back to her own room, which she did.

Once there, she changed clothes for the fourth time that day, putting on her favorite outfit: a fitted dark bodysuit made out of stretchy fabric, worn soft with use, also with a number of pockets, a cotton wrap for around her hair, dark gloves with leather pads and metal webbing across the knuckles, and worn black leather boots that had long ago lost their shine. She tucked all her hair into the headscarf, making sure it was wrapped tightly around her braid, and dipped her fingers into a bag of ashes, rubbing them lightly across her face. She'd left her corset on, along with a small knife strapped to her thigh and a necklace that concealed a small vial of acid. She wrapped the sash around her waist and looked at herself in the mirror, nodding with satisfaction. In a dark room, she'd be practically invisible.

There was a rumor among outsiders that Sneaks actually could turn invisible, that their hatred of magic was just a front, but those on the inside knew that it was simply skill and a careful choice of outfits that weren't truly black, which would make them show up like a silhouette in the dark, but instead were a very dark gray, brown, or blue.

Now that Sabrina was ready, she slipped into the trapdoor that she'd accepted to have in he ceiling for times just like this, and set off to learn more about Moth.

She counted the trapdoors to the lady's room carefully, and waited several minutes in the crawlspace, listening for the slightest sound. Hearing nothing, she slipped into the room as quietly as possible. The trapdoor squeaked slightly, but it wasn't enough to wake Moth, so Sabrina dropped into the room, landing with a muffled thud, and began looking around.

It became immediately apparent that Moth had an unhealthy obsession with the Trickster King- there were at least four portraits of him on the walls, and she would bet there were more hidden away. The room was even more opulent than Sabrina's first room, and it had several secret doors that were marked, though Sabrina was willing to bet that there were even more unmarked ones. Searching, she found no weapons, but several kinds of poison- most weren't lethal, but a few were. Interestingly enough, Sabrina was fairly certain Oberon, the former Trickster King, had died of poison. She'd have to search more into that.

Moth's room also contained a desk full of plans and materials for several cruel pranks, each labeled with a name. The one on top had Sabrina's name, and it depicted an intricate wire-and-blade system that would cause, if done correctly, Sabrina's hair to be shorn short and her clothes to be cut to pieces.

Sabrina smiled a little- if this was Moth's idea of a way to get rid of her, it was a faulty one. Sabrina could deal with that. She'd overreacted earlier (though the Trickster King had deserved it), and had no plans to do so again, no matter how embarrassing being made to look a fool in public was.

Of course, Moth would probably figure out that that wasn't enough soon, and then she might use some of those poisons. Sabrina sighed. It was bad enough that one person wanted her gone, but now she'd have to be watching out for at least twice as many cruel pranks, and probably several of the more ordinary sort that these people seemed to do just for fun. Wonderful.

Oh well. At least she was partially prepared. She knew where Moth slept, and could keep one step ahead of her schemes if she played her cards right. And hopefully she could begin mapping out the castle tomorrow and become a little less of a sitting duck.

She took a look at Moth's sleeping form, then climbed back into the ceiling, closing the trapdoor behind her and heading back to her room to sleep. It had been a long first day in her new life.

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><p><strong>AN~ So what did you think? I did good? No?<br>**

**Some review replies:**

Athena:_ Review 1:_ **Well, I was referring to the fact that this story's been out for a while and it's not like you'd been waiting for an update, so I'm wondering how you could have been waiting for a story you didn't know I was going to make. And to find my other stories, you go to the little blue link at the top of the page that says 'Curlscat', and you click it. It'll take you to my profile, and at the bottom of that page you can see my stories. **_Review 2: _**I'm glad you enjoy the thought I'm putting into this, there really is a lot of it. There really wasn't much of a point other than the fact that Sabrina will only really have one friend in Sneak for a while: Mustardseed. 'Cause she and Titania have nothing in common.** _Review 3: _**It's fine. I'm used to it. ****  
><strong>

Book Geek: **:D Sabrina IS smart. She's just thrown into things and twelve in the books. So here she's not thrown into it, has been trained for this her whole life, and is not twelve.**

Dunwannalogin: **That's neat. Mind telling me who you are?**

Guest: **Thanks!**

kingsvillreader: **Glad you enjoyed it, and it's fine, it's only been a few days. :)**

Refin: **You know you have PMs turned off, right? Makes me sad 'cause it means I can't have a conversation with you. I'm glad you like this and appreciate the work I've put into it, 'cause there is a lot. ^.^ I have no plans to abandon it, I promise.**

violetsrblue101: **It kind of gets on my nerves when people review and JUST ask me to update. Can you at least tell me why you want me to? Because I put a lot of work into these chapters, and when you just tell me 'write more!' it makes me feel like you don't appreciate what I'm putting into this at all. I'm not a machine; I'm a very busy college student who puts time and effort into these fanfictions. And reviews make it a little more worth it. Otherwise I'd just write my personal stories and work on getting them published. See?**


	9. Attempted Murder

**AN~ I'm back! Sorry for the wait, there was NaNo. Question for you all: do you want me to do shout-outs? Otherwise known as pimping? I'd put another story that someone recommended to me in each chapter, probably another similar AU one or one I just thought you'd like.  
><strong>

**QotU: What's happened to you that's scared you the most? Or worried you?  
><strong>

**Old QotU Winner: Dunwannalogin, the only one to answer it.**

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><p>"I can't believe she hit me!" Puck ranted to his brother. He'd have ranted to himself, but Mustardseed was there.<p>

"In her defense, you absolutely deserved it," Mustardseed said mildly.

"Shut up," Puck said without much feeling.

"Doesn't this mean you win, though?" Mustardseed asked, "Since she broke down and lost her temper? Isn't it considered barbaric?"

"There is that," Puck conceded, "But still! I was hit by a girl and it hurt! That's just... wrong!"

"Don't let mother hear you talking like that," Mustardseed said, "Or your fiancee, for that matter. They'll both beat you senseless."

"Which isn't right. At all."

"That's debatable."

"This is why I hate talking with you."

"I'm sorry," Mustardseed said, but his voice was still mild and calm, as it had been through the whole conversation.

They were in Mustardseed's study. It was small, made of dark wood, with large windows on the two walls which faced outside. The remaining two walls were covered in bookshelves, and Mustardseed's desk occupied the center of the red carpet that covered the floor. Mustardseed was sitting at the desk, scribbling at some paper or other, while Puck paced, glaring at the books. He could feel a sneeze coming on.

After a while, Mustardseed put his pen down, and looked up at Puck, an exasperated expression on his face, "Look," he said, "Has anyone bothered to tell you why you need to marry this girl? Really tell you?"

"Umm..." Puck said, thinking about it, "Maybe? I probably didn't listen if they did."

Mustardseed gestured to the chair across the desk that Puck was pointedly not sitting in, and said, "Sit, please. And I'll try to explain."

Puck sighed and lowered himself into the purposefully uncomfortable chair a lot more slowly than he would normally move unless a prank required it, though his movements were still kind of quick, reluctant to put himself in the chair, which he felt let Mustardseed control the situation a lot more than was strictly necessary. More control than he wanted to let his brother have. Or admit that he already had.

"It's like this," Mustardseed said, "You know that when the Magicians overthrew their queen, the new government voided all the treaties they had with anyone. Including the one our parents' marriage created." Puck nodded. He'd mostly known that. "Well, they're preparing for war." Mustardseed continued, once he was sure Puck understood. "With us, and with Sneak."

"How come?" Puck asked. He got that the new government wanted to establish that they weren't a place that could be overrun- though he thought it was kind of stupid, because they were living in a mountain range that no one else would want, really. But he didn't get why here. Why Trickster?

Mustardseed answered his question, saying, "Because they want to expand. They want land that they don't have to magic into feeding them, and they want slaves. They also want our secrets- especially Sneak's, but ours too. We're the best animal trainers in the world, and we have some miraculously unconventional ways of fighting. You'll have to ask Sneak why they want there. But they most likely want to take over the world- we're just the easiest places to start with; expand into."

"Easiest?" Puck demanded, sitting up straight, affronted.

Mustardseed nodded. "And that's why we need this alliance with Sneak. They can't attack Artisa, they're too big, and they have a proper fighting force, with knights and all. Sneak is spectacular- but they're small. They'd be overrun by sheer numbers. And we have the opposite problem. Now, Puck, don't get offended at this-" Puck set himself up to get offended- "but Trickster- nobody here would last ten minutes in a fight. We might get a few good shots, but they'd defeat us easily, even if anyone did take the fight seriously. _We need Sneak_. They can teach us how to fight, and we can give them the numbers they need to keep from being overrun. So you need to marry Sabrina so that we can both benefit, all right?"

Puck stared at Mustardseed for a minute, the full force of the explanation sinking into his brain. Then he nodded, slowly, seriously, and said, "All right."

Mustardseed blinked. Puck grinned. Show him! He could be reasonable if he wanted to!

"That doesn't mean I'm going to stop pranking her," Puck cautioned his brother, "But I'll stop trying to drive her off."

"Oh," Mustardseed said, blinking. "Well, that's good enough, I suppose."

Puck shrugged and said, "I don't think she was going to go, anyway."

* * *

><p>Sabrina's next two months were a blur of balls and festivals (better than balls, though no less messy, or hectic) and pranks and baths. She learned how to tell the difference between Moth's pranks and Puck's, and the ones that she just walked into by accident- no one else set out to bother her on purpose, and if she did, she taught them better. Puck's pranks were more likely to embarrass her, and probably in public, than Moth's, which were... more vicious, to say the least. And far more diabolical.<p>

She'd just disentangled herself from a series of thin cords that were almost invisible, and far too close to her neck height- if she'd been walking faster, they might have cut her past the skin, and it was a slip that she'd walked into them at all, but she was in a hurry- she was to have tea with Puck. He'd invited her- most likely under pressure from his mother or brother- and she wanted to know what he wanted to talk about.

When she made it to his room, her clavicle bleeding lightly, along with several places on her arms, showing through her purple long sleeves, and a few on other places on her body, she knocked and stood outside the door, smoothing her weighted braid. Even if she didn't like this boy, it was still important to make a good impression, and with a ripped dress it would be hard enough to do that.

Puck opened it and blinked at her for a second or two before asking bluntly, "What happened to you?"

"I thought you'd know," Sabrina said, smiling a bit, without humor, as she looked down at herself. "She's doing it to get me out of the way so she can get to you, after all."

"Moth?" Puck asked, eyes widening as he put a hand to his forehead in realization. "Wonderful."

He led the way into his room, and Sabrina followed, not bothering to look around. She'd been there before, without his knowing, and the enormous park of a room wasn't a shock to her, though it was cold in the wintertime, a pathetic frosting of snow on the ground- snow, at least, was a surprise to Sabrina. She saw it rarely in her sheltered corner of seaward land. She'd decided she liked it well enough, even if it was devilishly cold and very wet, and hard to walk in without leaving a trail.

"So you didn't know, then," Sabrina said, sitting at a chair in front of a desk underneath the small roof, rubbing her arms together. She could practically see her breath.

Puck rolled his eyes, and looked pointedly at Sabrina and the seat she'd chosen- the only seat in the 'room,' really. Then he sat on a stump nearby and said, "No, of course not. She's my cousin- my mother brought her mother over here as a lady's maid, and her mother married a man here and had that. She's decided we're destined for each other. My father kind of liked the idea, thought it was a great joke. So he encouraged her."

"Ah," Sabrina said, "I'm sorry, then. She's a handful."

"You can say that again," Puck muttered. There were two plain mugs on the table full of piping hot liquid on his desk, with a teapot between them, a note tucked under it, and he noticed her eyeing it, so he said, "Help yourself." He leaned forward and grabbed a mug of his own.

Sabrina grabbed the mug and blew on its contents, enjoying the warmth between her hands as she tried to get a look at the note. It said something that ended in '-with your fiancee' and had no signature, so she guessed that he'd been told not to drink it unless she was there by his mother. It was something she would do.

"So she still thinks she has a chance because we obviously don't want this?" Sabrina inferred, taking a sip of her drink. It scalded her tongue and tasted bitter, but it sent a wave of warmth down her throat to her stomach, so she decided it was worth the taste and the sensitivity that would remain in her tongue for days after, and took another sip.

Puck nodded. "She probably thinks that if she can get you out of the way, I'll want her."

Sabrina shook her head and was going to smile- she knew how unlikely that was, she'd figured out that the Trickster King wasn't in the mood for any sort of love- but her stomach rolled, and a sharp stab of pain hit her in the torso. She doubled over as the pain worked its way outward, dropping the mug. It shattered, and the contents continued to steam as they sank into the ground. She cursed herself silently. What had her mother always told her about teas? _Never let someone else pour your drink_. And she had! She'd let her guard down, again! She'd slipped up far too many times in this place, and now she was going to pay the price.

"What's wrong?" Puck asked, and he didn't sound concerned, she wouldn't have expected him to, he sounded confused and a tiny bit disdainful.

She nodded to the cup, clenching her teeth, and asked, "Who brought you the drinks?"

"I don't know, they were just..." he trailed off, picking up a piece of the mug. He sniffed it, and threw it aside, shaking his hand. "Moth," he said, and now he sounded angry.

Sabrina might have been able to process this, reach a conclusion, but now the stabbing had spread to her head, interfering with her thoughts, and she asked, "Huh?"

"Can you walk?" Puck asked, "We have a doctor here, a friend of my mother's. He should be able to fix you."

Sabrina tried to stand. She didn't quite make it, and she ended up lying sideways on the ground, with a close view of one of the legs of the desk. It was dirty, and sloppily carved, but sturdy.

"Guess not, then," Puck said, and he picked her up more easily than she'd thought him capable. She'd have protested, but she was colder than before, unbearably cold, and his body was warm. "All right, the fast way it is."

They were moving, incredibly smoothly and quickly, and Sabrina, curious despite her headache, looked down at his feet to see how he could walk without jarring her at all. That was when she saw that he wasn't walking at all- he wasn't even touching the ground. The dusting of snow over dead grass was sinking away quickly and they were rising. She had enough energy to be astonished, and as she looked around for the source of their upward momentum, she saw a pair of clear, insectile wings streaked with pink veins, and she gasped. The cold air stabbed her lungs, though, and she started coughing, forgetting about their flight for a few minutes.

She didn't remember until she woke up, actually, because right about when she stopped coughing, blackness started to cloud over her vision, and from her eyes, it spread to her mind, and she knew nothing more until she woke on a cot in a small, brightly lit room full of orangey wooden shelves, all packed with vials and bottles, the sunlight streaming through the window- the sun had come out, then.

"You've rejoined the living, then," a new voice said, as she blinked around the room.

She spun to the voice, and, stopped, dizzy, lying back down. When she turned more slowly, she saw a small man, about fifty, with blonde hair and brown eyes behind glasses, wearing a simple white shirt and black breeches.

"Hello," she said, squinting at the man.

"Hello, Your Majesty," the man said with a small bow. "You gave us a bit of a scare, there. Another few minutes, and you'd have been beyond even my abilities to save. I'm Cobweb, the queen's physicik."

Sabrina had heard of Cobweb. He studied the alchemy the queen had brought with her from Magica as much as medicine, and he was skilled at both. She smiled at him weakly and said, "Then I owe you my life, sir."

"Ah, tut," Cobweb said, waving a hand. "All in a day's work, my dear."

Sitting up, more slowly this time, Sabrina saw that His Majesty was in the room, sitting on a wheeled ladder that was attached to the tall shelves, tapping the fingers of one hand absently along a glass jar full of shriveled berries, looking down at her.

Making eye contact, she asked him bluntly, "Why did you save me?"

He shrugged, his fingers tapping faster on the jar of berries. His other hand, wrapped around a rung of the ladder above his head, began tapping as well.

"Tell me," Sabrina persisted, feeling more herself as she pressed him. "I thought you wanted me gone. It would have been easy. And none of your doing. Just let me sit, and then your problems would be over."

He shrugged again, fingers still drumming away relentlessly. "I couldn't let her get away with that," he said, "not again."

He made a face, and looked as if he hoped she'd drop the subject at that, but there was no way she was letting him get off with that nugget of information spilled, and a new secret that close to discovery. So she asked, "Not again? She's done this before?"

He made a face, looking down and drumming his fingers faster, louder, but said, "You know my father-"

When he paused, she said, "Suspicious circumstances. Nothing more."

He nodded. "He was poisoned. Things pointed to Cobweb-" he nodded at the man, who nodded back- "but we didn't think he would. And my father had just told Moth, as a joke, that he thought I'd go into exile before we got married, and..." he trailed off, his fingers now making a noise she could hear across the room as they hit the glass, too fast for the noises to be distinguished from each other. "We never proved it was her," he continued eventually. "but we all know. I couldn't let someone else die from her revenge tricks."

"Oh," Sabrina said, softly, surprised at how much emotion he wasn't showing, except in his fingers- his voice was perfectly even, even if it did pause often. "Well, thank you."

He looked up at her with a grin and said, "Besides, given the choice between marrying you and Moth, you're the lesser of two evils. You at least don't talk at me about dresses and balls and petty little things like that all the time." But his fingers were still drumming away- da-da-lump, da-da-lump, da-da-lump.

"If I were to talk to anyone about balls and dresses, it wouldn't be a man," Sabrina said dryly. "Men don't care about clothes or dances, and boys care even less."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said, and the drumming lessened.

"Take it as you will," Sabrina said airily. Then she looked closely, sternly at him, and said sharply, "Now, sir, you owe me an explanation."

"What do you think that was?" Puck said, affronted.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, that was one, but you owe me _another_ explanation."

Puck groaned loudly and complained, "Geez, what is it with you Sneaks and explanations? Can't you ever leave anything be?"

"No," Sabrina said proudly. "We can't. So tell me, Your Majesty, why exactly do you have wings?"

Puck sighed, and his fingers began tapping again as he looked pointedly at Cobweb said, "My mother's from Magica. And everyone there has had magic for so long that for a lot of them, it's sunk into their blood. So they look like animals, or they have wings, or other things. She's one of the ones with wings, and Mustardseed and I got them, too."

"Oh," Sabrina said. She wasn't sure how to take this news. Her fiance had wings? Could she put up with that? A mother from Magica was bad enough, without him having his own... traits. And magic was about as great an offense to her as his crude sense of humor and annoyingly filthy recreational habits were.

"You ought to go to sleep," Cobweb told Sabrina. "You're out of danger, but that concoction took its toll on your body."

Sabrina tried to stand and failed, sitting back down with a thump. Puck hopped off the ladder and approached her. She was going to resist, but she knew she wouldn't make it to her room alone, even though it was a horrible idea to let him know where she slept. So she let him help her.

"Something's going to have to be done about Moth," Puck said as they reached her room, his voice calm, as if it was no big deal that she'd just tried to kill her.

Sabrina gave him a smile that was pretty strong, considering she'd been unable to walk to her room, and said, as convincingly as possible, "Don't worry. I'll take care of her."

* * *

><p><strong>AN~<br>**

**Some review replies:**

Book Geek: **I hated that. She had so much POTENTIAL. And every time it looked like she'd take a step forward, MB pulled her back. I'm glad I did good on Moth, I'm not usually great with insane people. Romance will pick up a bit soon. Like within a few chapters things will start to turn around. I just have to establish that they hate each other a bit more before they stop hating.**

clarinet jazz: **Glad you liked it!**

Dunwannalogin:** Well, if you won't use the PMs anyway, I'll just talk to you here. So far you're the only one who answered the QotU, so I guess you win? I had to get into the story soon. Ten chapters is too many for setup. But THIS isn't the plot, trust me.**

Papercups:** Hi, when you get here! Glad you liked it! :)  
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	10. Threats

**AN~ This chapter is pathetic short. I'm sorry. I was going to tack it onto the back end of the last chapter, but I didn't know how long it would be, so I didn't, and you end up with this less than a third of a chapter. I hope it's good enough that you'll forgive me.  
><strong>

**QotU: What is the most creative thing you can think to do with a banana?  
><strong>

**Old QotU Winner: iiGabbyLove, because she's got a scary moment that _isn't_ like something deadly or anything.**

* * *

><p>Sabrina had waited two days before she felt good enough to stop Moth. Obviously, the girl knew she wasn't dead, but she didn't know that Sabrina knew that she'd tried to kill her, and that had to change. And Sabrina was now up to changing it.<p>

So she'd donned her dark blue nightsuit and crawled through the tunnels in the ceiling to Moth's room, and was descending- she'd learned Moth's sleep patterns, and knew she'd still be awake at the moment. And she wanted her to be.

She went in through a door in the wall. The ceiling was too noticeable, and this door was far out of the view of any of Moth's multitude of mirrors, tucked half behind her wardrobe. Sabrina slid through it slowly, carefully, making sure not to bump or rustle anything, and shut it behind her silently, searching for Moth.

The other blonde was sitting at her armoire, brushing her hair with a silvery comb. Sabrina walked up to her silently, her hand on the hilt of the knife strapped to her right thigh.

It took Moth some time to notice the dark, hooded figure behind her, but Sabrina had been moving slowly enough that she was still about fifteen feet away. When Moth saw her in the mirror, her reflected eyes widened, and she spun, standing as she did so, her dress almost getting tangled in the legs of her padded and embroidered stool, but not quite.

"Who are you?" Moth demanded, "What are you doing here?"

Sabrina smiled fiercely and then dropped it, her voice flat and dead serious as she said, "I'm here to warn you, Moth."

"Warn me about what?" Moth asked, her voice rising in pitch and getting a bit frantic. "Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me?" Sabrina asked. "You ought to. After all, you did just try to kill me."

Recognition snapped into Moth's face, and she shrieked and was on Sabrina with the comb- its bristles glinted brightly in the candlelight- but Sabrina was ready, and faster- this time- and she had her knife out, stuck between the pointed bristles of the comb faster than she knew she could move, and she was twisting, pulling the comb out from Moth's hand.

Moth flew to the side with the force of Sabrina's twist and her grip, and Sabrina had time to inspect the weapon while the other girl picked herself up from the ground, panting and smoothing her dress.

"This is interesting," Sabrina said, looking at the knife. "I'm impressed. Quite well-made- you didn't get it here, obviously- but maybe you did. It's the sort of thing a Trickster would have, a weapon that looks like a comb. I may have to look in to getting one for myself... But how do you keep from stabbing yourself while you brush?"

"Give it back!" Moth shrieked, throwing herself at Sabrina again.

Sabrina was starting to enjoy herself, now. Moth had already lost control, which meant that Sabrina just had to be ready for anything and keep her own head to beat this girl. She threw her on the ground three more times before Moth gave a whimper and stayed there, holding her ankle protectively.

Sabrina shook her head- that was easier than she'd thought it would be. She walked right up next to the other girl and, looking down at her, said, "This is your only warning, Moth. I've put up with your deadly little tricks up 'til now, but anything more and I _will_ punish you. You won't like it. He doesn't want you any more than he wants me, and you're messing with the wrong girl. So listen to me when I say _leave me alone_." She dropped the comb at Moth's feet and turned away, walking unhurriedly.

Moth roared more than shrieked behind her, warning Sabrina in time to spin and catch the comb as it flew towards her back.

"Fine, I'll keep it," she said with a shrug. "Stop trying, Moth. I've been trained to handle people far more deadly than you could ever dream to be. You're out of your league."

She walked away again, going through the main door this time. She left Moth on the floor behind her, sobbing.

Outside, she almost ran into the Trickster King, who was standing very close to the door, laughing silently.

"That was brilliant," he told her, respect in his laughing eyes. "Almost enough to make me like you a bit."

Sabrina gave him a disdainful look. "If that's what it takes to make you like someone, I don't want your affection. That was cruel, what I just did, and if I'd done it to anyone else, I'd feel horrible right now."

"What?" Puck asked incredulously. "That was a first-rate trick! You just schooled her! Why on earth would you be sorry about that?"

Sabrina shook her head and walked away from him, saying, "And _that_ is why you and I will never see eye to eye."

She strode off silently, ignoring whatever Puck said next.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ So was it good enough? I had to end it there because the next bit is... different. And it wouldn't make sense to start it here.<br>**

**Some review replies:**

Book Geek: **I kind of sort of did answer what Sabrina was planning but not here. I hope I didn't make Puck care too much, 'cause he doesn't like her yet, really. He just thought she was the lesser of two evils, and he couldn't stand to see Moth get away with killing someone else. QotU: Oh dear. Lots of Hunger Games fans in your area?**

clarinet jazz:** Glad you liked it!  
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Dunwannalogin: **I guess 'cause he's all sixteen and stuff? Instead of mentally eleven? And he _does_ genuinely care about his people. HOLY CROW. That would be pretty scary.**

Guest:** Yes she is.  
><strong>

Puck: (chapter 1)** No, I don't believe she is.**


	11. Missive

**AN~ **Big important news, everyone! If you've been participating in Sisters Grimm fanfiction for over a year, you'll remember elligoat's 'The Best Sisters Grimm Story of 2011' Well, she's doing it again this year! You can nominate stories that you think are the best published this year, and then once she's gone through the nominations, you can vote for who you think is the best!

Now, I'd be really happy if you nominated one of my stories, but I'm not going to ask you to. I WILL ask you to nominate the one that YOU think is the best. Not yours, because that's kind of bad form, but the one you like best. The awesomest thing you've read in this category that was published this year. And to make it easy for you to find that, Fanfiction has an option where you can see only stories that have BEEN published this year! Isn't that exciting? You don't even have to worry about it!

And there are like 400 out there for you to choose from, so you can't use 'but I didn't LIKE any of them!' as an excuse.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and VOTE!

**QotU: Take two classic (or two of your favorite) books from different genres (like fantasy and realistic fiction) and write me a crossover that's shorter than five hundred words.  
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**Old QotU Winner: iiGabbyLove, who made an airplane out of her banana.**

* * *

><p>December the 18th<p>

Dear Daphne,

You won't believe what's happened to me- or perhaps you will (and I don't mean to say that you're gullible, don't go down that road, I just mean that you have a tendency to trust people more than I do, so you're more likely to accept what I have to say than I was).

I've written you before about Moth, the girl who fancies my fiance in love with her? Yes, I definitely have. Well, the other day, she went a step further, and attempted to poison me! I was foolish, and don't think I haven't berated myself enough over it already, but I didn't even think to check before I drank it. This is the unbelievable part- I'd be dead now if it weren't for the Trickster King himself! Apparently the unexplained circumstances in which the old Trickster King died were Moth's doing, and he couldn't stand by and let me die.

You, of course, will be unsurprised. I must admit, I never did think him capable of murder, either, which is why I don't believe the poison was his doing, although he did invite me to his room when I was poisoned, but I suspected that he, wanting this marriage as little as I, would have been happy to sit by and watch me die. And he didn't. In fact, he acted almost... like a human being, which surprised me. I've put it down to the shock of the situation forcing some consideration out of him.

Don't worry, I've put Moth in her place, and I doubt she'll be trying to kill me again any time soon, though I'll be more alert than before- I feel that I always must be more alert than before here. It's so tiring not to be able to leave my rooms without first checking for tripwires ready to drop pots of last weeks's lunch on me. At least at home all I had to look out for was friendly attacks.

I miss you, and hope you'll write soon. It's so lonely here, without anyone I know. I wish Granny had let me bring along a few servants of my own- I know why she didn't agree to it, but still. Titania brought her sister with her when she came to marry this man. Why couldn't I have brought you? I imagine you'd have had a marvelous time here.

Yours,

-Sabrina

* * *

><p>January the 1st<p>

My dearest sister,

I _am_ a bit surprised. Mostly that you let your guard down that much, when you were forever after me to be more vigilant. But I promised myself that I wouldn't say anything nasty to you in this letter. I miss you too much. I'm glad you're well, though- you _are_ well, yes? Not still wasting away in bed with some dreadful illness? Would you tell me, even if you were?

I'd rather have liked to go with you, but I'm behind on my schoolwork as it is, and if I were to be in Trickster, I'd have been so far behind I'd never catch up. I'm afraid the only class I'm still doing well in without you here to tutor me is Ms. White's self-defense courses, and that's only because she has taken over the tutoring. We don't have any magical classes this term, though, and I'm missing them dreadfully, though I do like the replacement course- diplomacy. I could almost be said to be doing well at it if it weren't for the fact that we're also supposed to be spying while we make nice.

Granny sends her love and says to tell you that she's sorry she hasn't written in a while, and- perhaps I should have told you this first, yes I most definitely should have, but your news surprised me so much I had to address that first- _anyway_, Magica has sent a request for a parlay! Isn't that fascinating? Perhaps we won't have to go to war at all?

Stop smirking at me like that.

Well, anyway, you know Magicians think that they're so high and mighty, and they'll of course require someone of a high rank enough to be 'worthy' of talking to them to come speak with the council, but Granny is having a horrible time finding anyone! We've always been a bit short on nobility, and right now most of them are preparing for war, or on missions of their own, or they can't be spared, since you won't be here to go on the progress this year. So she's very busy trying to decide who to send- she can't go, of course, that would leave me in charge of the kingdom, and we all know what a fiasco that would be!

Nothing other than that has happened to be very exciting around here. I miss you a great deal, so write me soon!

Love,

Daphne

* * *

><p>January the 15th<p>

Daphne,

Have you got another sister I don't know about? How can I be your dearest sister if you only have one? That's not much of a compliment.

I'm sorry, but I had to. Don't get upset with me for it, but... Well. It made me laugh.

Yes, I'm perfectly well. They have a doctor here, Cobweb, who is skilled in alchemy as well as the more regular forms of doctoring, and he had an antidote that had me as right as rain in two days. As far as your schoolwork is concerned, I've written you this letter in code so that you can practice- I know codes are fairly easy for you, but I can't do much else from here except remind you to watch your step on your left as well as your right, there are just as many things on that side of you that can make noise, and you always forget that.

So Magica wants a meeting, do they? Fascinating. I wonder if they'll tell the diplomat one word in ten that is true. I doubt it. Ask Granny if the Marquessa's eldest son could go. I know he's more of an assassin than anything, but he's twenty-two, he's nobility, and he's not afraid of magic.

Not much has happened here that I want to discuss, either. We've been having balls and festivals at least once a week, and I know you'd love to hear about what happened at them, but I don't want to remember. I've been spending a good deal of my free time with the prince, Mustardseed. I get the feeling he's as out of place here as I am- he takes more after his mother than anything, though he's a good deal less controlling and more rational. I don't think he has much in the way of friends here.

Write to me soon, I'm starving for news of home here.

-Sabrina

* * *

><p>January the 29th<p>

Dear Sabrina,

Very funny. And your recommendation came too late, even if the Marquessa's son _had_ been home. But I'll save that for later.

I do hope you're not falling in _love_ with the prince. Imagine what a scandal that would be! You having an affair with the brother of the man you're supposed to be marrying! I know you're smart, Sabrina, but you have a tendency to let your heart fly away with you before your head has a chance to jump in, and I'm afraid that without Granny there, you might make some foolish decisions.

Oh, I can't stand it anymore! Sabrina, Granny's chosen a diplomat to send- and you won't believe who she's chosen! She's chosen _me_! Me! I'll be going to Magica and talking to people and finally be worth something as a Sneak, and I'll be in _Magica_! I know you won't be excited like I am, and you probably won't understand, since you've never liked them, but try to see how much this means to me!

Excitedly yours,

Daphne

* * *

><p>February the 12th<p>

Dear Daphne,

Worry not, I've got no feelings at all for Mustardseed besides friendship. He's a very nice boy, but not really my type. Entirely too studious and not at all adventurous. Besides, my heart still belongs to Bradley, much as it shouldn't. I've already resigned myself to a marriage without love.

I _am_ excited for you, though. I've never been interested in magic the way you have, but I know you love it, and I know you'll make an excellent diplomat, even if they look down on you for being only twelve. Believe me I'm proud of you and happy and worried sick, sister, so be very careful, all right? It's not that I don't trust you, it's that I don't trust them.

You will be proud of me, I'm sure, for I've made another friend! That makes two whole people in this dratted kingdom that I can enjoy having a conversation with. It's Cobweb, the alchemist-doctor who healed me. He wanted me to come back in to make sure I was healing properly, and we got to talking about poisons, and now he's teaching me about several I've never seen before, and their antidotes. It's quite useful, and I'll be sure to show everyone at home once I've come back.

Love,

-Sabrina

* * *

><p>February the 26th<p>

Dear Sabrina,

Well, I thought things might change a little in class once I got chosen for this mission, maybe get a little easier. But they haven't. In fact, my workload has nearly doubled since the teachers found out. They all swear I'm not ready for this and that it's a foolish idea, though they know we've no other choice. And their way of compensating is to make me work even harder.

We leave once the passes open. I'm taking the Captain of the guard and ten of his best men that can be spared, and a bunch of other people- a few of my teachers and some 'servants,' though nobody else really important- I mean that the way Magicians mean important, of course: high ranked- can come. It should be about the time when you and your future in-laws leave for your progress, I think.

I'm glad you're happy for me, and I promise to be careful. I'm of course proud of you for making friends, and a bit jealous of you for getting to see the world more than I will- do write me all the details? I want to know everything about Trickster! I'm also glad to hear you haven't fallen for Mustardseed. That would be incredibly dangerous. Wouldn't it be funny if we met, and Mustardseed and _I_ were to fall in love? But from your description, he doesn't sound like he'd be my type either.

Your busy sister,

Daphne

* * *

><p>March the 12th<p>

Daphne,

I don't know, I think Mustardseed and you would get along nicely, if he could take all the excitement you'd get into. Not really grounds for a marriage, though, if you're always running off to do something new and he wants to stay home and do paperwork. (Besides, you're too young to be thinking about falling in love.) I want you to marry someone you _do_ love, because I can't, and it's horrible. I'd approve even if he was... half donkey, or something, as long as you loved him.

April can't get here fast enough! Though are you sure you'll be leaving then? The mountains are sure to have snow for just as long as Trickster will- two months of torture left, do you realize that? Two months until I can get out of this city! Well, not really. A month and nine days, truly. But still.

I'm glad to hear that you'll have the Captain with you. Why not Ms. White, though? She could be a great help. Couldn't she be spared?

Love,

Sabrina

* * *

><p>March the 26th<p>

Dear Sabrina,

I promise to never marry anyone who I don't think is right for me, and who I'm not wildly in love with, does that satisfy you? (I'm not too young to be thinking about it! I'm simply too young to get married. My friend Miranda's older sister got married at fourteen!) I won't even bring home someone who _is_ half donkey just to force you to hold to your promise!

Magica does things so that we can still get through the passes- though we must admit that most of their country _is_ passes, mustn't we? So we'll be leaving for the capital in two days, actually. It may take me longer than usual to write you. I'm sorry. Oh, I'm _so_ excited! Words can't express how much I long to be off!

Granny wanted Ms. White to come, actually. But she refused and said she couldn't go to Magica. She wouldn't say why. It was all quite mysterious.

I must go finish packing now!

Much love,

Daphne

* * *

><p>April the 9th<p>

Daphne,

A long wait before your next letter? No, I can't take it! I assume you'll be at the capital by the time you get this letter, though, so I suppose it won't be too big a problem. I wonder why Ms. White refused. I have a hard time believing it's still a secret, though, because of the other people she knows...

It may be that I won't miss your letter as much after all, because we're so busy packing for our own trip that I might not notice. These people are incredibly disorganized about packing and such. I get the feeling they don't go on trips like this particularly often- they ought to do what we do, and go on a progress every year. It would help a great deal.

I've made a few suggestions here and there, but mostly been disregarded. Mustardseed has listened to me, but he's the only one. It's infuriating to be ignored so easily when I know what I'm talking about!

We'll be leaving Cobweb here at the castle, and I shall miss him, but I shan't miss most of the ladies we'll be leaving behind-only two or three of them wanted to leave the palace for our journey, and only another few are coming as servants, you see, so it shall be mostly menfolk on our journey. And the males here, while infuriating, are less so than the females.

Still, I shall be going somewhere new and it will be interesting, so I shall do my best to look forward to it.

Love,

Sabrina

* * *

><p>April the 17th<p>

Dear, Dear Sabrina,

No, we're not at the castle yet. We've stopped about a week's journey away, at a charming hostel in the mountains- listen to me! Everything's in the mountains here- and I'm enjoying myself wondrously.

I imagine you, too, will be traveling when you get my letter, so I shan't mention bumps in the road, or the long hours, or the food, or anything that is universal for travelers. I might not even if you weren't traveling yourself, because the glories of this trip far outweigh the inconveniences.

You have no idea how different it is here from anywhere I've been before! The sky is a different color- a tinge of purple in the blue, I think it is- the air smells like magic and crisp heights, not salt, the trees are shorter and not as twisted, the buildings aren't all hiding secret rooms, and there are impossible things- towers so tall you wouldn't believe it, farms carved sideways into the mountains- it's fabulous, Sabrina!

I wish you could be here with me. But you probably wouldn't love it the way I do, would you?

I think I will be happy here, for as long as I stay.

Love,

Daphne

* * *

><p>May the 1st<p>

Dear Daphne,

Well, I'm glad you're having a good time.

Spring in Trickster is horribly rainy. And rain means mud. Mud mud mud mud mud. I despise mud. I don't think I did before this trip began, but I can't remember. None of the roads outside the city are paved even with cobblestones, and we broke an axle three days ago- it's why I was still here when your letter came. We will probably be leaving tomorrow. The mud is in my shoes, in my skirts, in my toes, splashed up from the horses into everything else... And as if that weren't enough, it's still raining.

It's gotten so bad that I've taken to riding in with Titania and her ladies in waiting part of the time, when I can't stand the wet anymore. We've taken two carriages and several covered carts for baggage, so sometimes I can even get in a carriage with people who won't drive me insane within five minutes. Not often, though, because they seem to have gotten the idea that I want to ride with the higher class ladies.

I have seen nothing of Trickster's countryside, met no people outside of the ones that work at the inns, and had nothing worth writing you about.

Love,

Sabrina

P.S.: I apologize for the stains on this paper- more mud. I tried to keep it off my writing things, but I couldn't.

* * *

><p>May the 16th<p>

Dear Sabrina,

I'm sorry you've had such bad weather. The weather here is fantabulous! It's sunny and clear and crisp, and I just can't get over the way it doesn't smell like salt! You'd think I'd have gotten used to it by now, or have gotten used to the way it smelled of salt at home, but I hadn't. It's very nice not to get sand in my shoes every time I step outside.

I of course don't mind the mud, and I am sorry you're having such an awful time.

We've reached the capital, and it's amazing! It just climbs up and up and up and swoops and it looks like something that shouldn't exist outside a painting, but it's real! Everyone here has been quite nice to me, and my clothes are actually quite in fashion. I've met a young man named Pinocchio whose job, it seems, is to show me around the palace and make sure I don't get bored when we're not having our peace talks.

I am enjoying myself wondrously, and we seem to actually be making some headway towards peace. The Magicians all say that they don't want war, and I haven't seen a single soldier the whole time I've been here. They do want some things from us, though. I'm trying to convince them that we won't be able to share any of our secrets with them because it's simply to private, but they don't seem to understand.

Well, I shall not tell them, anyway.

Love,

Daphne

* * *

><p>June the 5th<p>

Dear Daphne,

Your letter took a dreadfully long time to make it to me, are you sure you didn't date it wrong? I'm glad to know you're not going to tell them anything, not that I was worried, and equally glad to know you're having a good time. I shan't even caution you to be careful. See how much I trust you?

We've made it to two of the towns, and I've met many of the people- they're just as irritating as the people in the city, but a bit less shallow, for they actually have to work some of the time, instead of lazing about and doing nothing but pranking people. It's a bit refreshing.

Did you know that the Tricksters have a code for information that is serious and not a joke? They simply mention the queen's desires, and everyone understands that it means they must listen. It's quite fitting, seeing as their queen now is very demanding, and I shan't be joking around with them, but I wonder what they do when the queen isn't being serious, or when they have a queen who jokes as much as their current king does? It's a bit of a faulty system, to be sure.

It is still raining. It has been raining for nearly a month. This cannot be normal, and goodness knows it isn't good for the crops.

Damply yours,

Sabrina

* * *

><p>Dear Sabrina,<p>

I have changed the code I used for this letter. I hope you can decipher it. But after you sent me that response, I had reason to look into it, and I believe someone may be tampering with my mail. I'm sorry for not warning you beforehand.

The peace talks remain the same. Nothing new has happened. Now I must run!

Goodbye for now,

Daphne

P.S.: I'm sorry this is so short, but important things are happening!

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ <strong>New thing, guys! I'll be doing features for other stories similar to this one- set in a medieval era, or another AU, or something- and giving you a blurb, so you can look them up if I take a long time to update or something. Recommendations would be nice.<br>****

**Feature: Chapter One: Nightmares, Fights, and Kisses, by ILoveGeorgeCooper.**  
>This is an older fanfic, but worth looking into. It's the first in a three-part series, and the only one that's in a gowns-and-swords era (Sabrina and Puck end up in an alternate universe which is still in the dark ages). It's quite good, though some parts are a bit OOC or implausible.<p>

**Some review replies:**

Dunwannalogin: **That's intriguing. Did you know you have to write something about the chapter for the QotU to count?**

FlufferlLover:** Thanks for the review!  
><strong>

Guest:** Storyboard? What? I'm sorry, but your review was kind of hard for me to understand. I got the impression that you wanted to finish it?**

toolazy:** Nah. Probably not. Though I may try to make Sabrina prove that she killed Oberon.**


	12. Slight Acceptance

**AN~ **All right, everyone, remember how I told you about elligoat's 'The Best Sisters Grimm Story of 2012' competition? Well, it's still going on, and nominations are closed now, but the voting's started! Go get involved! (Please read at least one new story from the list of nominees, though, guys. It's no fun if you just vote for your friends, and part of the awesomeness of this competition is that you get to find out other people's favorites.)

**Shout-out and BIG thank you to Ariene Archerway, Maylona. 1. Love, Trickster Queen, TheAfterShock, SweetShireen, Red Fez, iizninja, and Lara D for nominating this story! I feel like I'd like to give you a present for that. What would you like?**

**QotU: **Take two classic (or two of your favorite) books from different genres (like fantasy and realistic fiction) and write me a crossover that's shorter than five hundred words. (It's the same as last time because nobody did it.)**  
><strong>

**Old QotU Winner: Nobody. Nobody did it.**

* * *

><p>Sabrina put down her sister's latest letter, shaking her head in a mixture of amusement and bafflement. Daphne's letter had been short, a bit worrisome, and confusing, once she'd finally solved the code, but it was so very like her sister that she couldn't help but laugh.<p>

She wouldn't write her back yet- she had nothing new to say. The whole party was crammed into a biggish (but not big enough) inn off the side of the road, and it was still raining heavily. Sabrina wore a dressing gown over loose breeches and a tight blouse, her letter opener knife on the table next to her, and a bottle of acid hanging in the large pendant at her throat. All her gowns were mud-splattered and damp, and her nighttime outfit was even worse, soaked in mud up to the knees. She'd given most of her clothes to the inn's mistress to have washed (probably by a monkey), but some she'd have to do herself, when she had the time.

There was a knock on the door, and she called, "Who is it?" picking up her letter opener warily.

"Tea, mum," a young girl's voice called. "You asked for it?"

"Yes, come in," Sabrina said, still holding her letter opener, poised to throw if the girl bringing it in was less innocent than her voice would lead people to believe.

The door opened, and a girl about twelve years old came in, carrying a tray with two plain teacups on it with no saucers, and a teapot between them. There was no sugar bowl, nor cream, but Sabrina didn't mind. As long as the tea was strong and hot, she'd be happy- or as happy as possible, with two week's mud caked into her hair and no bath in sight.

The girl was followed by Titania, a rather unwelcome surprise. But Sabrina just smiled slightly and said, "Hello," before telling the girl, "You can set it down right there."

The girl put the tea down, and Sabrina pulled a small strip of white cloth out of one of her smaller pockets as the girl left, shaking the cloth out before she dipped it into her tea, watching it closely.

Titania, who was still standing near the doorway, asked, "What are you doing?"

"Testing for poison," Sabrina said absently. "I don't want a repeat of earlier."

"Yes, but... _how_?" Titania asked, sounding more interested than before.

"The cloth has been treated with serums that will turn colors if they contact various poisons," Sabrina said. "We use it a lot in Sneak, but Cobweb helped me with some more unusual poisons that we don't have colors for in the standard test strip." Having waited the designated period, Sabrina removed the cloth from the teapot and shook it out again. It was slightly more brown than it had been before, but no other colors were visible. She looked up at Titania and said, "Have a seat. The tea is safe enough."

Titania shook her head and said, "No, thank you. I didn't come for a drink."

Sabrina wasn't particularly surprised. Titania's expression had been very purposeful the whole time she'd been there. She asked, "What did you come for, then?"

"I came to ask you to join us in the common room," Titania said. "It's improper for you to hide up here in your room everywhere we go. The purpose of this journey is to introduce you to your future subjects."

_And to prepare for war_, Sabrina thought with a dry amusement, holding her tongue as she poured her tea. What she said was, "I've just recieved a letter from my sister, and I came up here to read it. I was planning to go to bed soon. I'm tired from the journey today."

"You have been 'tired' every day of the journey," Titania said, "and everyone knows you're simply hiding up here. This is not making a good impression. Join us downstairs for dinner. The chimpanzees here make an excellent stew, you'll enjoy it."

Sabrina was tempted to refuse. But Titania had a valid point, and Sabrina knew it. So she sighed and said, "Let me finish my tea, at least. I'll be down as soon as I've finished it, I swear."

Titania gazed at Sabrina thoughtfully, then nodded. "I shall look forward to dining with you."

Sabrina nodded as Titania left, then sat back in her chair, sipping her tea and contemplating where to hide her sister's latest letter.

Eventually she decided to put it in her hatbox, which was normally filled with a large, stiff, oilcloth rain hat that hadn't been returned to its box since the journey began.

They were currently in one of Trickster's _many_ subkingdoms, Low Expectations. It was near the ocean, which Sabrina had missed dearly, although this beach was far rockier than those of Sneak. They had passed through Layabout, which was the area surrounding the capital, and Loafer, the area between Layabout and Low Expectations, where most of the actual farming of Trickster was done- by apes, of course. Titania hoped that by the next week they would be in Hooligan.

Sabrina had been completely unimpressed with everything she'd seen, though she hadn't been paying attention to much of it, and admitted that she was rather prejudiced against it all. It had seemed far more interesting on the way in, before she knew what these people were actually like firsthand, and when it wasn't raining heavily. She hoped the rain would let up soon.

She had finished her tea, and headed downstairs, hoping against hope that most people would have left.

No such luck. The crown prince and most of his friends (unsurprisingly, this was the majority of the people who had accompanied them on their progress) were seated around the fireplace, laughing loudly and eyeing up the serving girls- monkey minders, more like. The only girl Sabrina had seen _do_ anything was the one who'd brought her her tea. Titania and her ladies were seated in the corner nearby, and most of the regulars were across the room from them. Mustardseed sat in another corner, a circle of silence surrounding him. The rest of the room was filled with the other members of the party. Sabrina looked in vain for a place to sit where she'd be mostly ignored.

She decided, at long last, to sit among the people who weren't on the progress. If she _had_ to be among these frivolous people and listen to their pointless conversations, they would at least be _new_ conversations.

She walked through the flickering shadows of the hot and crowded common room of the inn, letting the roar of conversation wash over her without bothering to pay attention to any of it, too tired to care that some might be important, threading her way between apes with serving trays and wildly gesturing people to an empty seat near the edge of the room where most of the locals had gathered.

When she took her seat, the people nearby clammed up and stared at her. She ignored them for a while, sitting peacefully until a gorilla in a pink dress with a name tag that read 'Natalie' appeared, waving a menu at Sabrina's face. She pointed to the stew and the cider, and the gorilla shrieked, then waddled off. It reappeared with a mug of hot cider, which Sabrina sipped with an appreciative smile as the gorilla left again.

She sipped her cider twice more before acknowledging the people who were staring at her by looking up and asking, as if her being here was the most natural thing in the world and she couldn't imagine why they were all looking so shocked, "What?"

"What're you doing here?" a huge man with a scruffy beard asked. Someone elbowed him, and he added hurriedly, "Your majesty."

"I'm waiting for my dinner," Sabrina said. "When it gets here, I'll eat it."

"Yeah, but why on this side of the room?" a short boy with no hair on his head at all asked. "Why not over there with all them royal people?"

Sabrina shrugged and contemplated telling them that it was none of his business where she wanted to sit, but decided that she'd at least try to get to know these people a bit like Titania had suggested. So she said, "I've spent the past few weeks surrounded by those people. I'd rather have some new faces around me tonight."

"Oh," the boy said, brow furrowed. Sabrina got the impression that he wasn't very bright.

"Sure yer not here t'_spy_?" a skinny girl who seemed to have attached herself to the bald boy accused, glaring fiercely at Sabrina.

Sabrina laughed. "Would I tell you if I was?"

The amount of accusation in the faces around her doubled, if not tripled.

She sighed, reminding herself that she wanted these people to like her at least a little. She needed them to. War was coming. So she said, "I'm not here to spy. You're not the type of people who would know anything important. If I _was_ going to spy, I'd spy on the lower-level castle employees. The royal monkey trainers would be best, probably. Servants know everything. Farmers and normal people aren't usually good for learning much other than what the mood of the kingdom is, and a blind fool could figure that out pretty easily."

Most of them looked kind of confused. The girl who'd spoken earlier, though, who appeared to be about twelve or so- Daphne's age- with hair that might have been blonde if she washed it, demanded, "What's the mood, then?" Her voice was full of skepticism.

"You're all bored out of your wits," Sabrina said. "Same pranks over and over again, and nobody new to pull them on. You're looking for someone who hates them, because pulling tricks on people is fun, but pulling them on someone who gets angry is ten times as fun. Some of you are so bored you've even started working along with the monkeys, like that girl who brought me my tea earlier. But you won't tell, because that's just scandalous, to do work you don't have to."

The expressions changed, some to openly suspicious, but most to awed, or guilty. Sabrina almost smiled, because she'd bet her sister's life the guilty ones were the ones who were working.

"You also hate Sneaks because you don't trust us," Sabrina said, "because you're afraid we're going to steal your secrets- trust me, though, I don't really care that much. I have better things to do with my time than find out who's courting who, or who's stealing things from someone else."

"How do we know?" the girl asked. "That's just what a Sneak would say to throw us off our guard."

Sabrina smiled, deciding that she might be a little bit fond of this girl, in other circumstances, and said, "It is, isn't it? But you're too smart for that. And if I _did_ care, I'd have to watch out for you, because it wasn't very smart of you to show me you were suspicious, and now I know you're smart."

"So will you kill me?" the girl asked.

Sabrina couldn't help it. She laughed out loud. When she got control of herself, she wiped her eyes and chuckled again at the expressions of the people staring at her. Then she said, "Sorry. Sorry." Turning to the girl, she said, "I don't kill people for being suspicious of me. At home, everyone is expected to be suspicious of everybody else. And even if we did, I wouldn't kill you. Because, seriously, I don't care. At all. You can do whatever you like, and it won't make the slightest difference to me. The only thing I've been using my sneaking for recently is to keep from getting dirtier than I already am."

The girl's face showed the slightest trace of belief for a second, before she glared harder and said, "I don't believe you."

"Fine," Sabrina said with a shrug, "Don't."

Natalie the gorilla came back with a bowl of soup and a smallish loaf of bread, both steaming, and Sabrina smiled at the gorilla, taking both and digging in with gusto. She'd grown to like the ape servants of this country. They, at least, didn't pull tricks on her. And they were excellent cooks- this soup was fully as good as Titania had led her to believe. She ate quickly, enjoying every minute of it, even though the soup burned the inside of her mouth a bit.

"Wait!" the girl said as Sabrina kept eating, apparently oblivious to her. "Don't you want me to believe you?"

Sabrina shrugged and swallowed a large mouthful of potato and chewy beef before saying, "Why should I care?"

"Because..." the girl said, fumbling for an answer.

Sabrina could guess what was going on in her mind. She wanted a way to say either 'I want to know more about you,' or 'you're supposed to prove you're not lying to me. That's how I know you are,' without saying either- one would embarrass her, and the other would let on that she was suspicious. So she helped the girl out, saying, "I know you won't believe me either way, so why should I keep going?"

"Don't... don't you want me to believe you?" the girl asked, brow furrowed.

"Not really," Sabrina said with a shrug.

"Why not?" the girl asked.

"Well, it doesn't matter, does it?" Sabrina asked. "Unless you were thinking about killing me in my sleep. Then it might matter. But it's all right, because I'm a light sleeper."

Someone in the crowd around her laughed. Sabrina smiled into her mug of cider. That's what she'd been going for.

"But..." the girl looked confused.

"Relax," Sabrina advised, returning to her soup. "Come talk to me if you figure out what you want to say. I can wait."

The girl got up and stormed off, pulling the bald boy with her. He followed with a confused but amused look on his face.

Sabrina ate her soup, and, slowly, the people around her returned to whatever they'd been doing before, ignoring her for the most part, though occasionally one would look over at her and lower a voice before speaking, or someone would address her, usually with a 'pardons, your majesty,' though occasionally there was a question.

She stayed in the common room for a long time, well after most of the others on the progress, and even most of the regulars, had gone to bed, listening to the conversation and watching the gorillas- it was mostly gorillas here, she wasn't sure why- clean up. She was happier than she'd been in a long time.

There were a few footsteps behind her. Without turning, she said, "Hello, your majesty."

"How did you know it was me?" he asked- it was Puck.

"I know how you walk," Sabrina said, still not looking up. "And almost everyone else is asleep.

He sat down next to her, and they were silent for a time, before he said, "Well."

"Well," she agreed, sipping her fourth mug of cider. She'd probably have to use the privy in the middle of the night, and she'd hate walking to it in the dark, in the rain and the mud, but it was excellent cider, and it was helping her warm up- her toes were still cold.

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself tonight," he said grudgingly.

Good Lord, what did he _want_? He wasn't jealous, and he wasn't angry, so why was he here?

Instead of addressing that, she said, "That girl is the third person in your whole kingdom that I've enjoyed spending time with."

"Who are the first two?" Puck asked, and he actually sounded a bit curious.

"Your brother and Cobweb," Sabrina said, thinking that maybe she'd enjoyed some of the time she'd spent with him- just that once, when he'd actually talked to her and been serious.

"Not me?" he asked, and his tone was light and joking on the outside- all the way through, really. She had to be imagining the shadow of hurt behind it.

"Not you, really," she agreed. "I don't believe I could enjoy spending time with you even if you wanted me to- and you obviously don't."

"How do you know I don't?" he asked hotly. "You're not inside my head!"

She smirked at him and asked, "How do you know I'm not?"

"You're not," he said, not bothering to play along- a first. She'd joked and he was serious.

"You don't act like someone who wants me to enjoy spending time with you," Sabrina said, as serious as he was, now.

"How don't I?" he asked.

Oh, goodness. What was this? He was completely throwing her off with this new behavior. He couldn't _want_ her to like him, that was just ridiculous. But... what other options were there? Was he trying to fool her again?

When his fingers started tapping, she realized she'd been thinking for too long, and she scrambled for an answer, saying, "Your pranks. They're not the kind of thing that makes a girl like a boy."

"They are here," he said softly.

This was entirely too strange, and she didn't know how to deal with it. She said, "Not where I'm from."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" he asked defensively.

Sabrina rounded on him and demanded, finally sick of this strangeness, "Are you suggesting that you wanted to make a good impression on me?"

"Maybe," he hedged, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Sabrina laughed. "That's ridiculous. You hate me. You tried to drive me off."

"Well, yeah, but..." he started.

She cut him off, shaking her head. "Stop," she said, "Don't lie to me."

He grinned at her, and for the first time that evening, he looked like the fiance she'd come to know as he said, "You caught me. I don't like you. But I don't hate you, either. You're just annoying and way too uptight. But Mustardseed wants me to try, and he explained why, so I'm trying. Which means being kind of _nice_ to you, hard as it's going to be."

She rolled her eyes. That wasn't the nicest answer, but it made much more sense. And she'd rather have honest brutality than false kindness. "Shall we attempt to interact civilly, then, your majesty?" she asked, voice dry.

"See, _this_ is why nobody here likes you," he said, gesturing at her. "You talk like that!" He grinned at her, though, and said, "Sure. Let's be 'civil'."

Now _that_ hurt a bit. Nobody? Well. What could she expect? She didn't like any of them.

"Good," she said, giving him a half smile. "Now please go away, I'd like to get to sleep."

"No," he said, grinning at her impishly.

She glared at him and said, exasperated, "Do you enjoy tormenting me?"

He looked at her like she was a bit thick and said, "Yeah," in a tone that implied that this ought to be obvious.

"Why?" she demanded.

"Because it's fun!" he exclaimed. "You get mad. Nobody else here really gets mad. It's nice to see someone who actually reacts and doesn't get all ticked at me like my mother and brother."

It figured. It was what she'd been saying earlier, wasn't it? Tricksters only playing jokes on their own people was like Sneaks only spying on each other- it was wonderful practice, but not good for anything, and it got boring after a while- they wanted to go out and use their skills where it would actually matter.

"Well, I don't have to stay here and be tormented," she told him, standing. She left her cider on the table. She didn't need anymore, and it was cold now.

"Aw, come on," he complained, "I was enjoying myself."

"I wasn't," she said mildly. "Granted, I didn't hate every second of it, which was a nice change, but I can't say I was having a good time."

"That's because you're a stick in the mud," he muttered.

She rolled her eyes and walked for the stairs, saying, "Goodnight, Puck."

It was the first time she'd addressed him by his first name.

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><p><strong>AN~ <strong><br>****

**Feature: Arranged Mariages Suck, by MorganGrimm  
><strong>This fanfic is an AU in which Sabrina is a princess with the ability to talk to magical creatures. It is only one chapter, and has some errors, but the concept is solid, and Puck was definitely in character. Sabrina was a bit OOC (she LIKES magical creatures), and the other regulars have yet to make an appearance. I might have liked it better had I seen more. Worth a look, though.

**Some review replies:**

Dunwannalogin: **I don't really understand WHAT you liked about this chapter... I don't know what Puck was doing, and I don't really care that much, it wasn't important. :)**

Lazy: **I liked Wisdom's kiss, though it's not what gave me the idea for this chapter. That was a book called 'Sorcery and Cecelia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot' by Patricia C. Wrede.****  
><strong>

Guest on chapter 1: **I updated. :)**

Guest: **Well, that's a problem, 'cause my next chapter isn't even going to be about Daphne.**

Millie the Kitty: **Thank you for your suggestions. The all-letter chapter is because I had about three months to get to, and I wanted an interesting way to write what had happened that would make it less filler and still only take up one chapter. As you are the only one who appears to have disliked it, I'm not going to change it, because technically, you DID find out what was happening. Just secondhand. (What do you mean more plot? That WAS plot!) Trust me, I plan on adding other characters. Plenty of other characters. Just not quite yet.**

puckabrinaluva:** Glad you liked it!**


	13. Magicians

**AN~ Hey, everyone! Did you vote on elligoat's contest? If you haven't, go do it! MOAR VOTES. Not necessarily for me, though it would be nice, but go vote for something you really liked!**

**QotU: Make your review a hundred words long. I like drabbles. :)**

**Old QotU Winner: Whoever it was (it's been a while, I forgot to write it down, and then I actually forgot who it was) that wrote me a a Heidi- PJO crossover. They win.**

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><p><strong>Three months earlier:<strong>

Daphne was the most excited girl in the world- or at least the five tradeskingdoms. There might be more excited girls out there in the regular world, but she didn't think so.

She was in Magica, almost at the castle, and it was wondrous. She couldn't believe they'd let her go- she was only ten, for goodness' sake! She'd never imagined that she would be the diplomat- particularly if Magica wanted to take over their country. But Magicians were persnickety and very fond of rank, even if they no longer had a queen, and she was the only one suitable. Of course, they had sent other people, ones who knew what they were about and could advise her before she made foolish decisions, but still. _She_ was the diplomat!

The Captain of the guard, who Daphne had learned over the course of the trip was affectionately called 'the Wolf' by those under him, rode up next to her and pointed up at the next mountain- one of the last before Magica ended at the shores of the great northern lake. "See that?" he asked.

The top of the mountain, which was rather oddly shaped, had a large brown splotch on it, and Daphne said, "The brown thing?"

"Yes," he said, nodding deeply, so that his white hair bobbed up and down.

"What is it?" she asked, after waiting a bit to see if he'd offer an explanation.

"That's the entrance to the castle," he responded. "The main gate."

"Is it really?" Daphne asked, eyes widening as she peered closer at the brown splotch. It was, in fact, gate-shaped. "Goodness me, it must be incredibly difficult for the subjects to come and petition them, all the way up there."

"I believe that may be the point," the Wolf said dryly. "They don't seem particularly fond of visitors here, and ones that cannot use magic to get themselves to the front gate from their living rooms aren't particularly welcome."

"I could do that," Daphne said thoughtfully, "If I had to."

"Best not to let them know that," the Wolf said. "We should reach the gate by nightfall."

"Really? All the way up there?" Daphne asked, incredulous. "But... it's so far off!"

"Yes, but we're making a good pace, and the path is nowhere near as winding as most of them are."

"Why oughtn't I let them know I can teleport?" Daphne asked, returning to the previous subject with a sneaking suspicion that he'd been trying to distract her from that line of thought.

His expression suggested that she'd been right, and he said vaguely, "They like to keep magic within themselves, and if they know you know some, they'll either want you to be one of them or be very upset with you. And the government is rather... strict at the moment, so you'll want to be very careful here. Don't let on that you're skilled in magic- you can show interest, but that's it."

"All right," Daphne agreed. Then she squinted at the distance and asked, "Who's that?"

There was a small party on flying flat squares coming down the mountain towards them, too far away for Daphne to make them out clearly, but getting closer rapidly.

"That," the Wolf said, looking satisfied, "Is the welcome party."

"Oh!" Daphne said, excited and surprised. "Is that usual?"

"For someone of your rank, a welcome party would have been normal far sooner, but yes, it's custom to meet an ambassador before he- or she- makes it to the palace gates," the Wolf said tightly.

Their party continued to ride forward as the people on the flying mats- carpets, Daphne realized as they drew closer- progressed rapidly towards them. The horses didn't like it, and Daphne reached down to pat her cream-colored mare on the neck, whispering soothingly.

The carpets halted about twenty feet away from the party, and a boy about Daphne's age with a large nose hopped gracefully off the leading carpet and walked towards them. When he'd reached Daphne's horse, he bowed deeply and said, "Welcome to Magica, Your Highness. I am Pinocchio, and I'm to be your companion of sorts during your relaxation hours here. Would you care to accompany me to the palace on my flying carpet? It's a far more speedy way to reach the palace gates than horseback is, and more comfortable, as well."

Daphne looked at her horse and said, "I'd love to, but..."

"Don't worry, your animals and luggage will be brought up by others," the boy Pinocchio said, offhanded.

"All right," Daphne said, satisfied. "Um... I have... a dog. Somewhere. Can he come with me, or should he stay with the horses and things?"

Daphne hadn't been able to resist bringing her dog, Elvis, along with her, and her grandmother had agreed. Elvis was a large scent hound, one of the many that roamed the palace of sneak, who had attached himself to Daphne. Like all the dogs in Sneak, he was trained to scent out criminals and hidden things or people, and Daphne thought that he was particularly smart, even for the dogs of Sneak.

"A... dog?" Pinocchio asked, raising his eyebrows.

Daphne nodded with a small smile and called, "Elvis!"

The enormous black-spotted brown dog came bounding out from among the horses, a piece of dried meat trailing from his mouth. He stopped between Daphne and Pinocchio, sniffing the boy curiously and swallowed the last of his stolen lunch. He growled slightly, and Pinocchio stumbled back. The dog was nearly as tall as he was.

"Elvis, down," Daphne ordered. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you," she told Pinocchio, who was looking very worried.

Elvis backed off, still growling a little in his throat.

"I would prefer he stay with the horses," Pinocchio said, "He is about the size of one. But I have an idea that he might not take it kindly if we attempted to separate the two of you."

Daphne didn't respond to that. She simply got off her horse and handed its reigns to someone who had come off another of the carpets. She curtsied slightly to Pinocchio, who bowed slightly, before offering her his arm and leading her to his carpet.

Several of the other members of Daphne's party (the important ones, for the most part) were led to carpets as well, while their horses were taken by strangers, who began leading the remaining people down the path. Daphne watched as they proceeded behind them, leaning over the edge of the carpet to see them.

"Please stay more towards the center of the carpet," Pinocchio said in a vaguely scolding tone. "It puts us off balance when you lean over the edge like that."

"Sorry," Daphne said, flushing a little and scooting back to the center of the carpet. She ran her fingers over the thing, letting her interest be taken by the carpet instead of the people she was leaving behind. "This is a fascinating device," she said, "How does it work?"

Pinocchio looked back at her with a slight smile and said, "Magic."

"Well, yes, of course it's magic," Daphne said. "But aren't there different kinds of magic? Saying that is like telling me the grass grows because of nature."

He looked back again, his expression a bit startled and impressed, but then it changed to dismissive as he turnsedback towards the castle, steering the carpet through a series of motions that Daphne tried to follow, with limited success. "You wouldn't understand," he said, still dismissive.

"Maybe not," Daphne said, "but I'd like to. And how will we know unless you try to explain it to me?"

"How will we know what?" Pinocchio asked, and Daphne could hear a mixture of confusion and irritation in his voice.

"Whether or not I'll understand it," Daphne explained.

Pinocchio sighed but said, "It's a standard levitation charm with some auguments- it's been given a kind of consciousness, so it's more alive than the average carpet tends to be, and the standard levitation doesn't come with directional commands, it's simply up or down."

"Why'd you make it alive?" Daphne asked. "Or kind of alive, whichever?"

"We wanted something rather like a horse, that could learn, and desire to protect itself, and know when someone other than its true owner is on its back, so it could adjust. But horses are impractical for our country, so we created something new."

"Oh," Daphne said, keeping her tone as neutral as possible so as to not let him see how much she understood. "And when you say 'we,' do you mean 'we' like you helped, or...?"

"We as in the country," Pinocchio clarified. "The flying carpet enchantment has existed for centuries, and I am certainly not that old."

Daphne tried not to take offense at his tone, but still. How was she to know? When people in Sneak said 'we,' they meant 'we'! Not 'someone else a long time ago'!

"We're here," was the next thing Pinocchio said, as if Daphne wouldn't have been able to figure it out for herself.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She was a diplomat. That meant she had to be calm. She couldn't let annoying young men like this bother her.

So she gave him a smile as she stood and walked off the edge of the carpet, which had landed on the clear space in front of the door, and said, "Thank you for the ride, Pinocchio."

He looked slightly started and smiled back at her. "You're welcome," he said, "I'm sorry if I was a bit... coarse. I'm not the most tactful of people."

Aww, he was sorry! Daphne smiled at him and said, "It's already been forgiven. I understand, my sister is much the same way."

"Sneak must be a very interesting country, then," Pinocchio said dryly, offering her his arm.

"It is," Daphne agreed, taking his arm. "But I have a feeling Magica will be just as interesting."

"I suppose," Pinocchio said. "One finds it a little less fascinating when one has spent a whole lifetime here. Perhaps giving you a tour will reopen my eyes, though. If I am lucky, you will find wonder in everything, and I shall be able to share it."

He walked forward and Daphne kept pace with him, her excitement growing higher as she fought to keep her palm out of her mouth- that would make an interesting first impression, to be sure- for she was to be introduced at a court!

The other carpets landed, and as the last passengers stood, the doors swung inward silently, and Daphne walked slowly and sedately, trying to keep her outside as calm as her inside was ecstatic. The room was full of elaborately dressed people, some of whom looked far less human than the others, with wings or tails or skin the wrong color, or ones who were simply the wrong height or shape, or all of the above. She saw three pigs who were walking on their hind legs and talking to the people nearby as if this was completely usual, and a cow doing the same thing.

At the end of the empty carpet she walked across was a row of chairs- the ruling council of Magica was made up of nine of their most powerful people, and they all sat on large gilded seats that were a cross between a throne and an easy chair, far more comfortable than the thrones in the Sneak grand hall. These were the people who were planning to go to war against her home, unless she could fix it. Daphne felt that she could like everyone else in the kingdom without feeling guilty at all about it, but these people were the ones she needed to watch out for.

There was Heart, who's called heartless by her people, a big woman whose voice is even bigger, and Daphne didn't know much else about her. There was Nottingham, the head of the country's security, who had perfected the ability for humans to breathe underwater so he could be with some mermaid or another, a small, conniving looking man. There was Rumplestiltskin, who was half goat and half man and never ate anything. There was the Beast, a man whose face was scarred horribly and who burst into a large, shaggy man when angry. There was a little girl dressed all in red, who had no name and was said to have channeled too much magic, driving her insane. There was Jack, who had a sword that could kill you by touching you, and grew beans that had impressive properties. There was Glinda, one of the most powerful witches in the whole kingdom, whose specialty was making you forget. There was Oz, the puppetteer who built automatons. And there was the invisible one. No one had ever seen him, but he had a chair on the dais, which was in the center, and empty, nothing but a shining, polished silver surface reflecting at the room- because his throne was silver, unlike the others.

She walked to the base of the dais and gave a deep curtsy before saying, "Thank you for having me. It is a great pleasure to be here."

She didn't pay as much attention to their responses as she should have- Sabrina would have been all about listening to what they said and reading everything she could out of it, and even Granny, who wasn't as fond of sneaking as most people she knew, would have formed some sort of opinion about most people in the room by the time they'd said three sentences to her. But Daphne wasn't like them, and she was too busy keeping her composure to concentrate on the way everyone else was keeping theirs.

But suddenly she found herself in a different room, full of bright glass globes and servants and floating lights and music, and people were coming up to talk to her, so she decided that she must have done everything right, because none of them were laughing at her, not even behind their backs- she knew how to recognize that from Sneak, though it had cut down once Sabrina had realized how much she was getting made fun of. The Sneak children respected Sabrina. They didn't respect Daphne, not really. A lot of them liked her, but none of them looked up to her.

She enjoyed the party a great deal. Pinocchio stayed with her for most of the night, though she let him go talk to a man who called himself the Editor, a visitor from Scholar, for a while, because she saw how much he was longing for it, and she stayed and made conversation with one of the pig-men, named Hamstead. He was very nice, and extremely friendly, even to the captain of her guard, who gave him an almost smile. If Daphne didn't know better, she'd have thought they knew each other from somewhere. But that was impossible.

The food was also excellent, as was the music, which mostly consisted of a series of buzzing, tinkling hums from somewhere she couldn't find- until she did, and realized that the floating lights weren't simply magic- they were people! Tiny people glowing so brightly she almost couldn't look at them, singing in a language she couldn't understand.

Pinocchio led their party to the rooms they would be staying in- her whole group, servants, guards, and all, had been stationed along a single airy hallway with a common room in the center of it, and she was sure it would be very pretty during the day, with all those windows. She liked the situation very much, especially when Elvis came bounding up to greet her.

"We understand that you Sneaks don't give as much credit to rank as we do here in Magica," Pinocchio was saying as Elvis showered Daphne in doggy kisses, "So we decided to save trouble and place you all in the same wing."

"Thank you," Daphne said, pushing Elvis out of her face so she could smile at the boy, "That was very kind."

He smiled back at her, but it was a bit uncomfortable, and she got the feeling that this was another of those 'I wasn't really involved in this' kinds of 'we.'

"You're welcome," he said, and then, after a pause, he added, "The peace talks don't start until two days from now. Tomorrow, would you like me to show you around the palace? I can be here in the morning, around nine."

She grinned. "I'd like that very much." She knew she wouldn't see everything with a guided tour, and that this would bother Sabrina. But she didn't mind altogether much. It would be worth it to have the company instead of poking about on her own. And this way she had no chance of getting into trouble- and she couldn't afford to get in trouble, not here.

He smiled back, and then left her. She let Elvis lead her to the room where her things were, and they both fell asleep on her bed almost immediately.

When she woke the next morning, light was streaming through her multicolored windows, making patterns on her cream-colored walls, dappling through her sleeping chamber into her water closet and her dressing room. She giggled at the beauty of it before getting up and washing- the bath, instead of having to be filled by a maid, had water that ran out of spouts, already hot! She dressed in a simple, beautiful burgundy gown that was full of pockets, and then went out to the central area of the hall the Sneaks had been situated on to see about breakfast.

There were some of those strange tarts the Magicians were so fond of, light and airy and cold as the mountains in the morning, with bits of jam and glaze dribbled over the top. She didn't think she'd have liked them nearly as much if they weren't always served with various hot drinks, but as they were, she sat down to a plateful of them with gusto, looking around the beautiful cream-colored room with large windows on the left side.

"How come we can't see the windows from the outside?" she asked the room in general.

Most of the others had already come and eaten and were just lounging around, or already gone on some Sneak task or another, so it was the Wolf who answered her, saying, "Charm that disguises them."

She nodded. "That makes sense. It's kind of cheating, though, isn't it? Disguising it with magic instead of actually making it look like a mountain?"

There was a burst of laughter from a corner of the room, and one of the guards said, "Look at that! She is a Sneak, after all!"

Daphne shrugged, not bothering to take offense. She was used to comments like that, and she knew these weren't meant meanly. So she said, "It just seems wrong. There's nothing wrong with magic, but... half and half? That's just odd. Why would you make something half actually a mountain and half just magicked to look like one?"

"Because you can," said someone else by the window. "Because you're from Magica."

Daphne shrugged, deciding that she would probably never understand, and returned to her breakfast, enjoying the beautiful room.

But a few moments later, another question occurred to her, and she asked, swallowing her latest mouthful of breakfast pastry, "Is the whole thing really built into the mountain? Or did they build on top of it?"

"They dug into the mountain and left as much of it intact as possible , and disguised everything that no longer looked like the mountain from the outside, except the door, with a charm," the lady who was to be her chief adviser, named Cindy, said, coming into the room. Cindy was a beautiful blonde woman who was the best diplomat they had in Sneak, and would have been the true diplomat if she'd been anything other than common-born, or even if her much older husband had been more than a repairman. But Sneaks didn't set much by titles, and Cindy and Tom were respected members of Sneak.

"That must have been a lot of work," Daphne observed. "Good morning, Cindy."

Cindy smiled back and said, "Good morning, Daphne. It's only a lot of work if you don't use magic. As they did, it was fairly simple."

Pinocchio appeared, then, and said, "Good morning, everyone." He bowed to Daphne and asked, "Are you ready?"

Daphne giggled and stood up, putting the remains of her breakfast pastry in her pocket and carrying her tea with her. It was time to see the palace of Magica.

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><p><strong>AN~ I wanted to get further in this chapter, but that didn't quite work out, unfortunately. It appears we'll need TWO Daphne chapters to get up to speed. That's okay. I'm still pretty on track with this story, so it works out. What did you think? Did you like it?<strong>

**Feature: The Trickster King, by SuppiChan00  
><strong>She was inspired by another story, called "The Queen of the Sneaks vs The Trickster King." This chronicles a rather confusing tale of Sabrina and Puck falling in love despite the fact that Puck is engaged to someone else (Moth), who doesn't like her interference. Daphne gets involved. Everyone is fairly in-character, though the mechanics need help.

**A lonely review reply:**

Cheeta2724: **Your PMing is turned off, so you get a reply here. :) I'm glad you liked it!**


	14. KEYBOARD SMASH

HOLY FRICKIN' CRAP, people.

You remember elligoat and that challenge I've been talking to you about that you totally all went and voted for? (Right guys? You participated, right?)

I MADE IT TO THE SECOND ROUND.

No, that's not exciting enough.

_**I MADE IT TO THE SECOND ROUND OF ELLIGOAT'S BEST SISTERS GRIMM STORY OF 2012 CONTEST!**_

That's more like it.

Right, so I figure I owe you. I mean, I'd really like to win, and I might be a bit bigheaded in saying I think I might have a CHANCE or something, but even if I don't, I want to thank you guys SO MUCH for helping me make it this far.

So yeah. You name it, you get it. Just review on this and tell me you voted for me in the first round (please don't lie), and I'll write you anything you want.

And because it's illegal to post a chapter without SOME story in it, and I can't figure out anywhere else to put this bit, here's something else for you:

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><p>Puck was behind her, Sabrina knew. She'd taken a break from the crowd of the progress, which was now almost through Hooligan, to go for a walk while they were paused for lunch, and he'd tried to follow her without her realizing. He'd failed.<p>

"I know you're there," Puck," she said, with a sigh. She'd _wanted_ to be alone with the sea, before they went inland. But so much for that, apparently.

"Dangit," Puck muttered, quitting his failure of a stealth attempt and walking up to her normally. "I was trying to sneak up on you."

She laughed. She knew that. "You can't sneak up on a sneak, Puck. That's like me trying to pull a prank on you. It's impossible."

Puck grinned at her, and, with the strangest turn of phrase she'd ever heard used in a sentence, said fiercely, "Challenge accepted."


	15. Growing Up a Little

**AN~ This is still in Daphne's POV, and because she's not as good a Sneak, you're not going to get as much detail. This Daphne is a big picture person, not a details girl. Can you see my other subtle changes? (Hopeful face)**

QotU: What is your LEAST favorite color and why? I'd prefer not to have responses like 'brown' or 'gray,' unless they're HONESTLY a color you hate more than all others. Points given for originality of answer and thought put into it (that I can see, obviously.), so something like 'pink 'cause it's girly' probably won't win.

**Old QotU Winner: Nello Orella, who was the only one to break a hundred words in her review! Clap clap clap clap clap.**

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><p>Daphne was utterly taken with Magica's capital. The whole capital city was lodged inside the palace, which took up almost the entire mountain. The best rooms were closer to the top, where the most light was, and the northeast side overlooked the Mermaid Lake. It was all light and airy and cream-colored with beautiful windows in purple and green and blue and clear, depicting pictures. The ceilings had paintings on them, and the walls had tapestries- but small ones, high up, like framed portraits, because they weren't necessary to keep the palace warm. She loved it.<p>

It had taken most of the two days for Pinocchio to show her the parts of the palace she was allowed to see, and there had still been more for him to show her as the peace talks began, so she found herself in no way bored for her first month in Magica. During her second month, things slacked off slightly, and she found that she needed to find things to do with her spare time. She continued to meet with Pinocchio, but he couldn't spend all his time with her, of course. So she set out to meet other people.

The first person she went to meet was the girl in red, the insane one on the council. She'd said little, and Daphne found herself feeling a little bit sorry for her.

"Hello," she said, once she'd found her, sneaking moderately competently into the girl's room- far less pristine and white than most places Daphne had seen in this palace-city, with its thick, dark red curtains over all the windows, and its big dark paintings on the walls.

The girl's room was very deep in the palace, surprisingly so, and large, with high ceilings full of shadows. Daphne couldn't see all the way back into the depths of the room. It had taken her a very long time to find it.

The girl turned to smile at her and asked, "Have you come to play house with me? You can be my Granny, until I find the real one."

"Umm... What?" Daphne asked. "I don't understand..."

"Come on, be my Granny!" the girl giggled. "Then I'll only need to find someone to be my doggy!"

"Um, well, I supposed we could play house-" Daphne said, befuddled and fairly certain that it wasn't only in Sneak that games of pretend were no longer openly practiced once children passed into double digits, making this girl far too old to be acting like this.

"Yes, yes, house!" the girl said, clapping her hands and bouncing before grabbing Daphne's wrist and pulling her further into the room. "You'll have to meet all my other family members, of course- there's the kitty, and my mommy, and my daddy, and my baby brother, and-"

"Daphne!" a voice came from the doorway, interrupting the girl.

Both girls spun around, and Daphne thought she heard a growl from the depths of the room as she saw Pinocchio silhouetted against the bright light from the hallway.

"Hello," the girl giggled. "Nice to see you again. Did you want to play, too?"

"No," Pinocchio said firmly, "No I did not. And Daphne cannot play, either. She is required upstairs."

The little girl pouted and said, "But I want her to play! She hasn't even met my family yet!"

"Yes, well, your granny has to go home, now," Pinocchio said, his tone changing subtly. "She'll come back later."

The girl continued to pout, but said, "Fine. Come back soon, Granny!"

She released Daphne's wrist, and it was immediately grasped by Pinocchio, who pulled Daphne away quickly, leading her upstairs at a faster pace than was exactly comfortable, while she blinked in the bright light.

"What were you _thinking_, going in there?" Pinocchio demanded as he hurried forward. "I know I've told you you oughtn't go wandering off on your own!"

"I know, and I'm sorry, but she looked so harmless and lonely," Daphne said sorrowfully. "I just thought maybe we could be-"

"Friends?" Pinocchio laughed, and his voice sounded colder than Daphne had ever heard it. "She's insane, Daphne. Just because she's our age doesn't mean she's a friend. Her 'kitty'? It's a monster. And the rest of her family are prisoners."

"What?" Daphne gasped. "I thought- dolls, or simulacra, or-"

Pinocchio shook his head with a cold laugh. "They're people." He gave her a sharp look. "And how do you know what simulacra are?"

"I picked it up somewhere," Daphne said vaguely, wishing she could lie like her sister. "They're a bit like automatons, yes? Fake people made of magic?"

"Yes, exactly," Pinocchio said, and he sounded less suspicious, though not completely mollified. "But how did you learn the word?"

"Someone must have mentioned it, and I looked it up, I believe," Daphne shrugged. She grinned at him. "I love words."

"Yes, well, that's a love we share," Pinocchio said, apparently satisfied for the moment.

Daphne would have to watch herself, she knew. She couldn't afford many slip ups like that. What if it had been someone other than Pinocchio? She'd have been in big trouble.

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><p>It was another month before she got up the courage to tell Pinocchio that she knew magic. Because by that point, she was sure she could trust him, and he wouldn't tell on her. So after writing a very brief letter to Sabrina in the newest of her codes (she'd always loved to make up codes), she ran to the library where she and Pinocchio had agreed to meet so that she could tell him her secret.<p>

The library was smallish but not minuscule, one of the few place in Magica that Pinocchio told her they would not be overheard and could meet in secret, as it was nearly forgotten, and in an out of the way location. It was rather musty and dusty, with small, high windows that let golden sunbeams full of dust motes fall on the three tables at which books could be read.

Pinocchio was there before she was, of course- she'd dallied trying to finish her letter, and was a bit late, sitting at a table with a small book. When she came in, he looked up and said, "Hello."

"Hi," she said, panting slightly as she sat down next to him, the door swinging shut behind her.

"You had a secret to tell me," Pinocchio prompted, realizing that she was having a hard time working herself up to tell him.

She smiled at him gratefully. It went against the grain to spill secrets, and she'd thought long and hard about how to tell him this without incriminating anyone else in her kingdom, but she knew she had to tell him. She couldn't be someone's friend while a secret lat between them

So before she lost her nerve, she blurted out, "I'm trying to learn magic."

"What?" Pinocchio asked, drawing back in shock, wide-eyed.

She nodded and said, "I've always loved it, and I found some old books in one of the libraries back in Sneak- very old ones, and I've been trying to teach myself, and I thought that I might learn more by coming here, but I haven't, and I really want to, and... I was... wondering... if you... could... teach me?" she asked, slowing down nervously as she neared the end of her small monologue.

"Oh," Pinocchio said, his expression changing into a thoughtful kind of surprised. "Well. I... suppose I could."

Daphne yipped in glee, shooting upright in her chair. "You will? Oh, Pinocchio, that's fantastic!"

He nodded and said, "You do realize that this will have to be done in utmost secrecy."

She nodded.

"And that if anyone catches us, we'll both be put in prison or perhaps excecuted, most likely?" Pinocchio asked.

Daphne nodded again.

Pinocchio leaned back in his chair, letting out a breath of air, and said, "Well then. I suppose we ought to get started."

Daphne nodded excitedly.

They spent that afternoon with Pinocchio deducing what it was that Daphne already knew so that he could figure out how to train her further. He said that she was remarkably far along for someone who had virtually taught herself, and seemed quite impressed. While she glowed under the praise, she felt a bit guilty for taking credit for something that wasn't exactly her accomplishment. They agreed to meet the next week at the same time.

From then on, her weeks took on a bit of a pattern, meeting to discuss peace with the council of nine (eight, really. The invisible ninth one was as silent as he was hard to see) at times, meeting with Pinocchio to practice magic in the small library, or going on tourist-type things in the city-palace, or around the country. She met the mermaids at one point, and saw a flock of pegasi another time. She was loving every moment of it, even if she didn't make many friends who were her own age (or many friends at all), and the peace talks were coming _very_ slowly. In truth, she was glad of the excuse to stay longer.

One time, while she and Pinocchio were talking about nothing in particular, he told her why she'd never seen his family:

"I never knew my mother," he said, "Well, I suppose I must have. But I don't remember her in the least. She may as well have not existed, for all I know- my father never mentioned her.

"I think he was lonely," he added. "It was just the two of us, and I know he loved me dearly- I loved him, too. But he was a toymaker, and not particularly gifted with magic. So when the scandal happened with the queen and her daughter, he saw the war coming, and he fled to Artisa. We were separated. I got stuck here, and he is out there somewhere. Things... are not in a state that he can return. But if I wait long enough, when I am an adult, I can apply for a pass to leave. Then I could find my father, and i could board a ScholarShip to the archipelago, and learn everything- or almost everything. Odds are low that I will get a pass, but one never knows. And I have to hope."

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Don't be," he said with a small smile. "I've got a position here at court, and my life is quite good."

Daphne looked down, not wanting to show him that she was still sad. It hit close to home, though, what with his losing his father and her having lost her parents.

Pinocchio did the oddest thing, then: he put his fingertips on her chin and pulled her face towards his, so that she had to look him in the eye as he said, "I don't want your pity, Daphne."

Daphne nodded, taking a deep breath. She said, "It's not pity. I'm just... sad. That's all."

He gave her a smile that looked to be about as sad as she felt and said, "We're kindred spirits, you and I, aren't we?"

She smiled back at him. "There's that, at least. We're not alone."

"Yes," he said with a smile, "there is that."

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><p>Daphne had never had a friend quite like Pinocchio. He was very like her in a lot of ways, though he tended to get very pompous and long-winded. He was rather younger than she was- though not by much, and this, too, was something new. She'd only ever had friends who were her own age or much older, in Sneak. He treated her like he knew more than she did, but then again, she was used to that, and he was right, honestly. It was also nice to have a friend who wasn't always sneaking up behind her, who she could even sneak <em>better<em> than! He read more than anyone she'd ever met who wasn't from Scholar, and he was fascinated with everything. He confused her, and made her wish she had her brother back. She wanted to know if this was what having a brother would have been like.

She continued to try to make friends with the girl in red, more out of pity than anything else, though she never went as far as to go to her room again. She believed Pinocchio about the monster. And she made a few other friends- servants, for the most part. But most people seemed too afraid to get too close to her.

So she grew closer to Pinocchio, and looked forward to their meetings in the smallish forgotten library more and more.

One time, Pinocchio was followed, though neither of them realized it (Sabrina would have), and someone came into the library as they were there. Daphne was a good enough Sneak to know they weren't there for a book.

So she latched onto the only feasible reason she and Pinocchio could have been meeting in a small, private, out of the way place that wouldn't draw suspicion on either of them, and as the door opened, she grabbed Pinocchio by the shirt, dragged him bodily to her, and pressed her lips to his in an unpracticed, rather sloppy and wet kiss.

It wasn't what she'd expected her first kiss to be like, and Sabrina's voice ran through her head, saying, _"We'll sacrifice anything for the sake of the mission,"_ and she thought it was rather fitting, if not in the least romantic. But it did the job, and the person who'd followed them left hurriedly, closing the door behind them.

As soon as the door was closed, Pinocchio pushed away from Daphne and exploded, "What on earth was that?"

"I'm sorry," she said, flushing. "It was the first thing I could think up that would explain why we were meeting here. You don't want to be caught, do you?"

"Well, no, but..." apparently at a loss for a response, Pinocchio fumbled for words for a few seconds before saying, "Just... ask next time, all right?"

She grinned at him and said, "Hopefully there won't have to _be_ a next time. But all right."

They never spoke of the incident again, and Daphne was glad when there was no cause for them to repeat it. His nose was rather long and pointy, and it had pressed into her face in an uncomfortable way. And besides, his teeth had clacked against hers, making her mouth sting. Not the most wonderful experience of her life, she decided.

She wrote to Sabrina about it, and Sabrina's response told her that she had been laughing her head off the whole time she wrote it, even as her older sister assured her that not all kisses were like that, and that perhaps it was the surprise of it that had made hers so awkward, and maybe she ought to try again.

Daphne had made a face at that. It was rather irritating, the way her sister saw romance everywhere. She hoped that she wasn't that bad when she got older (though when she told the Wolf, he assured her gravely that she was already just as bad, which was horribly frightening).

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><p>Her eleventh birthday came and went, and Daphne's company from Sneak threw her a surprise party, as usual. All parties in Sneak were surprise parties. She was fairly certain that hers were more gratifying than most, because she was almost always genuinely surprised, and this year was no exception.<p>

She continued to exchange letters with her sister, changing the code every third letter or so, because she was still certain that someone was going through her mail. Her letters to Granny were less frequent, but usually far longer. No one else needed writing to.

She came along well in her magic lessons, and Pinocchio introduced her to his friends at the court, including a rather bumbling man from Scholar who called himself the Scarecrow, and a pair of children a few years older than she was, one of whom could transform herself into a frog-thing, and a boy who was, often as not, an enormous spider from the waist down. Both were children of the man on the council of nine, Rumplestiltskin.

The peace talks were virtually the same as ever. They had made little to no progress, and it didn't help that several people who had come with Daphne to Magica were spying a good deal and finding preparations for war all over everywhere, making this seem more and more like a charade that the Magician council wanted to go through to be able to say they'd been provoked to war. But Daphne continued to hope for the best.

She had been in Magica for over a year when it happened.

"Daphne Grimm," a soldier said, coming into the common room where several of the Sneaks were gathered, eating a late lunch.

She looked up and said, "Yes? What is it?"

"Your presence is required in the council chamber," the soldier said stiffly.

"Oh," Daphne said, a bit surprised but not too shocked. There were occasionally last minute meetings like this. "All right, then. Can I finish my lunch, then?"

"No, I'm afraid that won't be possible," the soldier said. "You need to come now."

"All right, then," Daphne said, picking up her plate, "I'll just take this with me."

"Yes, just come along," the soldier said, beckoning her up.

The soldier led her forward quickly, and she trotted along with him, balancing her plate of sandwiches carefully, trying to eat them as she walked.

When they arrived in the council chamber, Daphne was surprised to see a great number of people gathered there other than the nine members of the council. They all stared at her as she came in. The room had been rearranged- instead of a circular table with the necessary number of chairs, the room was occupied by nine thrones, one silver and empty, the others bronze and occupied by the members of the Council of Nine, standing behind a long table on a small dais.

In the center of the room was a small open space, and the soldier directed Daphne into it, rather roughly. She stumbled on her way there, and spent several seconds smoothing herself out before asking the room in general, "What's going on?"

"Daphne Grimm, you are here to stand trial," a voice boomed from nowhere, and thunder cracked.

"What?" she demanded, drawing back in astonishment. "What did I do?"

"You are hereby accused of discovering state secrets- specifically, attempting to learn the art of Magic, which is forbidden knowledge to all those whose citizenship is not that of Magica- and of attempting to use them for your own gain," Heart said, her voice booming out across the room for all to hear, even louder than the thunder-voice. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"What?" Daphne asked. "But I- I didn't!"

The air around her flashed bright red, and Heart proclaimed, "Guilty!"

"But... how did you know?" Daphne asked. "I didn't- nobody- I wasn't-"

"Don't bother," Nottingham said, giving her a disdainful look that promised many very nasty things. "We have it from a witness. This is just a formality."

"Daphne Grimm, you are hereby sentenced to an indefinite period of imprisonment while the court decides what to do with you," Heart said.

She seemed fond of that phrase, 'you are hereby,' Daphne noted. An odd thing to pay attention to at a time like this, but Daphne's brain seemed to be acting a bit oddly.

Part of her brain was still stuck on how they'd found out, though, and she repeated, "But how did you find out?"

"Go on, show her," Rumplestiltskin prompted, grinning into the crowd, then at Daphne. She shuddered.

The crowd shifted around, either being pushed aside or pushing someone forward, she wasn't sure which- she ought to know which, she felt. A true Sneak would know. Of course, a true Sneak would never have been caught, she was sure. She looked at the crowd as the people moved, all hostile-faced, or at least terrified looking. Out of the crowd came-

"Pinocchio!" she exclaimed, staring at the face of her betrayer.

He had the decency to look down, away from her, ashamed.

"How could you?" she accused.

"I had to!" he exclaimed, as the guards came forward, towards her. "You don't know what it's like! I had to do it! They promised me a pass out."

"That's no excuse," she hissed. "I'd never have turned on you."

He looked away, shamefaced. The guards led Daphne out of the room, and she went with them compliantly, broken.

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><p><strong>AN~ There you go. How was it? (Guys, you've been a bit light on the feedback thing recently. How come?)<strong>

**Feature: 'The Queen of the Sneaks vs The Trickster King,' by SaraR. puckabrinaluva  
><strong>Got it wrong last time, guys. THIS one is the one that's based off another one. I honestly like it better, though. It has some small issues like an incompletely defined world, but it's much clearer and easier to read. Most of the characters are kept fairly IC, and it's an easy read, with chapters of a good length to be read when you don't have a ton of time or attention to spare.

5thGradeReader: **That wouldn't be too far off base, all things considered.**

Izygl: **Thanks! :)**

Nello Orella: **I plan to make this story about thirty chapters, and since this is technically chapter thirteen, and I've gotten everyone in place so that we can have the 'meat of the story' as you called it (yeah, lots of buildup to explain the world and stuff, it was kind of long, wasn't it?), the has begun! I thought the dilemma was obvious... I put that there was going to be a war with Magica in the first chapter...****  
><strong>

puckabrinaluva: **Glad you liked it!**


	16. The Fallen

**AN~ Hey, everybody! Updates might slow down the tiniest bit because I'm back in class now. (Did I tell you that already? Disregard this if I did), but I'm going to _try_ to keep it regular- at least once a week, probably on Thursdays (tonight, lookit that!).  
><strong>

QotU: What SHOULD we be learning in school? Make up a class that you think would either be really useful for real life or just a heck of a lot of fun.

**Old QotU Winner: Velika Silvertongue and yellowish green.**

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><p><strong>Nine Months Earlier:<strong>

The royal progress through Trickster had reached the far eastern border of the kingdom: the Tracks, and were about to cross into the Wrong Side of the Tracks before heading south, and Sabrina was awed by what she saw.

The Tracks were a series of deep pits, or sinkholes, all vaguely kidney-shaped, that marked the boundary between Trickster and Artisa. They were said to be the footprints of giants, but Sabrina found that unlikely, as they were all of varying depths. A river ran through the stone tracks, pooling as deep, bankless lakes in most of them, cutting underground between some of the Tracks, and aboveground between others, making narrow canyons or small, airless caves as it wound its way from the mermaid lake at the edge of Magica to the Great North Bay, Artisa's only seaport that didn't freeze over in the wintertime.

Sabrina found it absolutely beautiful, and she did not find many things beautiful. It was all orange-brown cliffs leading down to the clearest, bluest water she'd ever seen (or the darkest, deepest black), with green growth crawling up the sides of the canyons, mingling with the striated orange, tan, brown, and white of the rocky cliff face, a few colorful flowers peeping out in places.

She stopped her horse on the ridge, looking over at the beautiful view, breathless, as the progress worked its way slowly over the only gap between any two of the Tracks that was wide enough for a carriage to pass over safely.

"Awesome, isn't it?" a voice asked, and she held back a start of surprise, turning to see who was next to her while cursing herself for forgetting herself in the view.

"Beautiful," she agreed, turning back to the view when she realized it was Puck.

"Unlike yourself," he agreed, and she could hear the grin in his voice even without turning around.

"You're one to talk," she retorted, wishing he'd kick his horse into motion again and get over the ridge so she could enjoy the view in peace.

Puck had been endlessly confusing, lately. One moment he was kind, or funny, or just companionable, and the next he was flicking her with his filthy ruffled cummerbund, or insulting her, or drenching her in some unknown disgusting substance. It was infuriating in and of itself, but what bothered Sabrina the most was that she could not figure him out. She wasn't sure when he was being serious or when he was simply messing with her head, and she hated it- but at one point or another, she'd changed, somehow, and started hoping that he wasn't attempting to trick her into thinking he enjoyed her company- and _that_ bothered her most of all.

"I," he said loftily, "Am a paragon of human and extra-human beauty, particularly of the masculine sort, far in looks superior to your feeble physical form, and three times as excellent in mind."

Sabrina gave a most ladylike snort and said, "Who sold you that one?"

"A diplomat from Scholar," Puck told her, giving her a wink and a grin. "Gave me all those words and everything. I just turned his 'my' into _you_."

"I knew you couldn't come up with a sentence like that on your own," Sabrina told him with a smirk of her own.

"What do you mean, I couldn't?" Puck demanded. "Of course I could!"

Sabrina snorted again and said, "I bet you don't even know what half of those words mean."

"I do!" he protested, drawing up taller in his saddle.

A passing soldier- or what passed for a soldier in Trickster- snorted. They were used to these sorts of arguments between the two royals.

"Prove it," she challenged.

"I will!" he snapped. "What do you want me to define?"

"'Paragon,' for starters," Sabrina scoffed.

"Umm, it's a... a... like a shape, kind of, with sides and..." Puck deflated visibly.

Sabrina smiled triumphantly, knowing she'd won. "I knew it," she said. "I mean, after all, you still haven't been able to sneak up on me."

"I almost did, right then!" Puck protested.

"No you didn't," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I so did," he pressed.

"Did I look surprised?" she asked.

"Well, no, not really, but-"

"Stop," she said, "Just stop there. I wasn't surprised. So you didn't sneak up on me."

"But you didn't tell me you could see me like you usually do," he pointed out, "So there!"

"What, I'm not allowed to change things up?"

"You never do! You're all about habits and boring stuff!"

"I'll show you boring!"

"Children!" Mustardseed's voice cut through their fight like a spoon through pudding, and both turned to face him, shamefaced and angry, as he continued, "We have places to be. Hold off on your bickering until we reach our destination, please."

Puck made a face at his brother, mimicking him, but kicked his horse forward, back into line. Sabrina shot him a look of warning, and he glared fiercely at her, sticking out his tongue.

Because of the way the two had to rejoin the line that was crossing the Tracks, midway through while everyone else was already in formation, it was rather crowded where they were, and both were on the left edge, giving Sabrina a continued marvelous view down to the pool at the bottom of the gorge. She was enjoying herself tremendously when there was an enormous crack and a shower of purple sparks went off. There was a shout of high-pitched laughter, and then more thundering cracks and colorful sparks, and Sabrina's horse, always more of a flighty animal than most Trickster horses, began to shy, stepping sideways, closer to the edge of the cliff and farther from the fireworks display that was beginning in the center of the caravan.

She tried to calm her animal, but the other horses were beginning to act up, too, and her soothing pats and quiet noises had no effect. It stumbled, and she spun, staring as she realized that her horse had almost just slipped off the edge of the cliff. Another crack, closer and louder than before, and her horse lost control. It reared back and charged through the crowd, throwing Sabrina off its back as it went.

She fell, and instead of hitting the hard ground, continued to fall, down into the gorge. Her thoughts as she went were fairly calm, and she found that surprising. She calculated how far she was falling and realized that, unless the water was deep enough that she'd be bogged down by her clothes and drowned trying to swim up, she would die on impact, and felt this was rather a shame. She decided that the gorge was still beautiful, and was mildly amused by the fact that she'd wanted to go down and explore one- not quite this way, though. She was rather upset with herself for not being a better rider, because she knew at least fifty people who would have stayed on that horse in that situation. It hadn't even been that big of a rear. She realized that she was in shock, with mild surprise. She wondered when she would stop falling- she was still facing up, at the shrinking Lima bean of blue sky, and couldn't see how far she had to fall.

And then, abruptly, she did stop falling. There was an incredible, painful jerk in her armpits and on her back, and she heard her blouse ripping, and then she felt a pair of surprisingly warm, comfortable, comforting arms around her, pulling her up into a bridal carrying position, and then her cool internal calmness shattered.

She hugged the person who'd grabbed her, not caring who or how, as her body racked with shakes, and she tried to draw a breath deep enough to get enough oxygen, failing, breathing in small shuddering sobs, eyes as round as gold pieces, clutching her savior as tightly as she could with her trembling grip, as they rose smoothly back the way she'd come.

They landed-they'd been flying- on the far side of the chasm, and Sabrina's savior dropped her feet quickly, though he or she didn't push her off as she continued to cling to the neck of her rescuer, gasping and half-crying and trembling so hard she felt as if she might shake herself to pieces.

There was a roar of noise around her, but not much sunk in until she heard a loud commanding feminine voice shout, "Who did that?"

The noise stopped.

The voice- it registered in the back of her mind as Titania- demanded, "Well? Who set off those firecrackers?"

Sabrina couldn't see what was happening with her head still buried in the neck of her rescuer, trying to control her body, but there was a rustle, and a very nervous sounding male voice, probably not much older than she was herself, said, "Um- I'm sorry, your majesty, I didn't mean- it was just a joke- I never-"

"Go retrieve the horse," Titainia's voice said coldly. "I'll think up another punishment for you when you return."

There was a drumming noise like hooves. Sabrina's shakes were beginning to come under control. Her rescuer's hands came up tentatively and patted her on the back.

"The rest of you go on," her rescuer's voice said- it sounded rather far away, but Sabrina could feel the chest (his chest, it was a boy's voice, and she recognized it from somewhere) vibrating as he spoke, sounding commanding in a way that surprised her. "We'll catch up when her horse comes back."

"Do you think she'll be able to ride?" that voice was Mustardseed, she recognized that one, "She looks rather shaken up. Perhaps the carriage-"

The head attached to the neck she was clinging to shook, and the oh-so-familiar but different voice said, "You know she hates the carriage."

"But can she ride?" Mustardseed persisted, and Sabrina felt herself getting a bit irritated with this boy- a good sign, as her shakes slowed even further.

"Well?" her savior asked, pushing her away and looking her in the eyes. "_Will_ you be able to ride?"

It was Puck. The one who'd saved her, the one who she'd been clinging to for the past who knows how long, the boy who'd flown into that pit (of course it was Puck, stupid! Who else could have gotten down there fast enough?), the one who'd grabbed her by the shirt, was the Trickster King!

She was too shaken to react to this with anything other than surprise, so she tried her best to gauge her body so she could give him an answer, deciding to deal with her emotions towards her fiance later. After concentrating on each bit of her body individually, she said, "I... I think so."

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Mustardseed asked.

"Yes, we'll be fine, just go," Puck sounded irritated, Sabrina noticed. "You can leave some guards with us if you absolutely have to."

The progress started up again, leaving behind five guards, Puck's horse, and the two young royals. Once they were far enough away, Sabrina sat down with a thump, landing on the hard ground and trying to control her shudders, which had regained strength.

Puck and the guards all looked at her awkwardly, probably trying to figure out how to react to the shuddering half-crying mess that she'd become.

Part of her shock- the reason that it had picked up again- was because of the discovery that her savior was Puck. The idea that the Trickster King would save her from anything was foreign to her, and astounding. Now she would owe him. And now he had done something unthinkable: he had been in a position where she could die, easily, freeing him from his marriage with no blame, no fault, no shame, and he had not let it happen. He had rescued her. She couldn't understand it.

And then he did something even stranger. He squatted down next to her and began patting her shoulder gently.

Her sobs burst out louder now, no longer half-crying but fully wailing, dribbling snot from her nose and hiccuping. The part of her brain that knew why she was in shock looked down at the rest of her in disgust- she would be embarrassed by her behavior later, but for now she was just irritated, and glad that her monthly weeps had something to do with it, glad that she wouldn't normally act like this.

The man who'd gone to rescue the horse came back, then, and she stood.

"Can you ride, then?" Puck asked her, giving her a dubious look.

She wiped the tears from her face and stood as tall as she could with her legs still trembling, cutting off her tears as best she could, even as her breath still caught in her throat, and glared at him. There was no way she wasn't going to ride.

But every attempt to get back on the horse failed miserably, and even when she had help and finally made it onto the beast's back, she kept fumbling for the reins, causing the horse to sidestep.

"That would be a no, then," the Trickster King said dryly, pulling her back off the horse more gently than she'd have expected, if she'd been expecting it. "You, take the horse and lead it. She'll ride with me."

Sabrina tried to protest, but somehow found herself sitting in the front of Puck's saddle with him behind her- an uncomfortably tight fit, forcing entirely too much body-to-body contact, especially in the region of her behind- as they rode towards the Wrong Side of the Tracks.

The ride calmed her, and her shuddering stopped almost completely, though her hands still shook, and eventually she was calm enough to ask, "Why did you do it?" without even a hitch in her voice.

"What?" he asked, pulling back a little.

"You heard me," she said, turning to look up at his face, "Why did you save me?"

"I had to, didn't I?" he asked. "I mean, I could. What would I tell people when they found out I'd let you die?"

She shook her head and said, "It would have been so easy. How many people here know you can fly? Your mother? Your brother? I would have fallen, you'd have been free of your engagement, and nobody would have known. You could simply have told your mother and brother that you were too shocked to think- after all, _they_ didn't go rescue me, either, so they'd have believed you. You'd have been free. So why did you do it?"

"Because I couldn't just let you die?" he suggested, sounding irritated. He refused to look back down at her, keeping his eyes on the ground before them.

She laughed. "Why not? It would have been easy. You've been trying to get rid of me for months, and here was your perfect chance."

"I didn't want to murder you, I just didn't want to have to marry you!" he snapped, raising his voice a little.

Sabrina, who had long ago mastered the art of having a private conversation in a crowd, said in a voice just low enough not to be overheard, "This wouldn't have been murder. This would have just been you, sitting on your horse, while I fell out of your life forever."

"Why do you care so much?" he demanded. "I saved you, shouldn't you be happy?"

"Oh, yes, incredibly happy," she said, "But I'm a Sneak, driven by the insane desire to know everything. And I want to know why you saved me."

"I-" he stopped, then burst out with, "I don't know, all right? Yeah, I could have said I wasn't thinking and that's why I didn't save you, but I _actually_ wasn't thinking, and that's why I _did_ save you. I just reacted. You were on your horse, and then you weren't, and then I was in the air going after you."

"Oh," Sabrina said very quietly, and she looked down at the horse's neck.

"Satisfied now?" he asked, and a bit of humor had crept back into his voice. She hadn't noticed it was gone until it came back, but she realized how abnormal he had sounded earlier, now.

She nodded, then said, "I'm sorry. For pressing you. I shouldn't have."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," he agreed. "You should've been all 'thank you for saving me, your handsome highness!' And what do I get? 'Why did you save me? You should have let me die!' You have issues."

She laughed a little, trying not to be offended by that comment because she knew it was at least partially true, and said, "Thank you. For saving me. I was terrified."

"You're welcome," he said, looking down at her with an impish grin. "That's more like it."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Don't expect me to fawn over you just because you've saved my life. There are far too many ladies that do that already."

"Oh, are we jealous now?" he asked, winking at her.

"Hardly," she said, rolling her eyes again. "For me to be jealous, it would imply that I want you."

"How can you not want all of this?" Puck asked, gesturing in a way that took in his chest, which he thrust out as he did so- this would have worked far better if Sabrina wasn't pressed up against him, twisted around to talk to him, because all he accomplished was pushing himself against her.

"Hmm..." she said, pretending to look him up and down while pushing back against him so that she didn't fall out of the saddle, "I don't know. You're a bit scrawny for my tastes. Although you might look better without your clothes on, I don't know."

"Oh-ho!" he said with a laugh, "Trying to undress me already? And we're not even married yet!"

"You wish, skinny boy," Sabrina said, turning back around.

She realized that she was enjoying herself, and that her hands had stopped shaking, and she decided she was grateful to Puck. His teasing had been just what she needed to calm down after her upset.

For a few minutes, she allowed herself to lean back into her fiance's chest and enjoy its warmth and the feeling of his arms reaching around her for the reins, and didn't even imagine that he was Bradley. Then the buildings of the Wrong Side of the Tracks came in sight and she sat up straight, flushing bright red.

"I don't suppose we could stop and let me back on my horse?" she asked hopefully.

"No we can_not_," Puck said, not even bothering to pretend he wasn't cheerful, "We're late enough already. What will my mother say? You'll just have to stay right here on my horse with me. It'll make a wonderful first impression on these people."

"I didn't think so," she said, sinking down so that she was as small as possible, almost entirely hidden by Puck's body.

She only stayed that way momentarily, though, and when she saw the first person, she sat up tall, looking at the gathering crowd proudly. She was a Sneak, and she would not be embarrassed- visibly. On the inside, she was curled up in a ball with her face as red as anything.

They all stared at her on Puck's horse, and she stared back, stony-faced, trying to force the flush off her face. When they reached the rest of the progress, she got off the horse as gracefully as possible and headed for Titania.

"I see you were not able to ride, after all," Titania said, her expression unreadable.

"No," Sabrina agreed. "I relapsed a bit after you left, but I'm much better now, thank you." Titania hadn't actually asked how Sabrina was feeling, but she ignored that.

"Good," Titania said with a tight smile. "I'm glad you're feeling sound, because the steward of this territory would like to meet you. Now."

Stewards were actually the nobility in Trickster, but when the separate parts of the kingdom had combined and the Trickster King had been given the honorary title of 'lord,' they had needed to come up with a new name for their nobles, and someone had been fond of steward.

"All right, of course," Sabrina said, wishing that she was wearing something a little nicer, or at least had had time to freshen up. "Lead the way."

Titania turned, and the entirety of the progress followed her to meeth the steward of the Wrong Side of the Tracks.

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><p><strong>AN~ <strong>

**Feature: "Life in Fairyport Castle" by lizalot  
><strong>Any of you who frequent deviantART probably know about lizalot's visual art skills. She's not a half bad writer, either, and I'd wager that she's probably better now than she was when she started this, as it's over a year old (and still only one chapter long, unfortunately). This story is a straight-up transplant of the characters that doesn't reimagine them in any way, good for people who want a little less originality in their AU and more just pretty dresses. Not much to say on the plot, as it doesn't really exist yet. Everyone seemed to be in-character, though.

reading this now: **Yes, I did miss that, thanks for pointing it out, I'll fix it soon! Thanks, I enjoyed writing the kiss.**

Rudod: **That is an absolutely EXCELLENT answer, but you didn't say anything about the chapter, so it's disqualified. Sorry. :(**

tolazehtologon: **Thanks so much! Who are you, exactly?**


	17. World Smasher

**AN~ Well, didn't get it done QUITE as fast as I wanted to. I wanted it finished by last night but that didn't work out and instead of a Thursday night update I'm giving you all a Friday morning one. Good enough? I think so.  
><strong>

QotU: What do you really really want to be illegal? Or just think would be funny to have be a law or something. Points for creativity!

**Old QotU Winner: emowriter and naptime. Because NAP TIME.  
><strong>

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><p>The steward of the Wrong Side of the Tracks was a fat man with thinning dark hair and a ruddy complexion. He was drinking from a goblet when Sabrina entered the main hall, and slurring his words as he looked suggestively at a nearby girl approximately half his age. Sabrina knew nothing about him, and felt this hole in her knowledge dramatically as she tried to gauge why this man would want to talk to her.<p>

She curtsied to the man, not very deeply, she was a queen, after all, as someone announced her and the others. She held herself up tall, covering for her appearance with her bearing, a trick she had learned from her rather short but still very regal grandmother.

"Ah," the steward said, looking away from the girl, who snuck away, relief in her eyes, and turning to Sabrina and the others. "Welcome, welcome! I hope you had a nice trip?"

Sabrina smiled back, a false smile that said nothing to this man, and said, "Yes. A bit of excitement near the end, but otherwise good."

"Ah, yes," the steward chuckled. "I heard about that. No permanent damage, though, I see."

"No," Sabrina agreed, _just my pride_.

She didn't realize that she'd said the last bit out loud until everyone began laughing, the steward longest and loudest of all. He slapped his knee a few times and, calming himself down a bit, said, "Ah, no need to worry about that, my girl. Happens to the best of us."

Sabrina smiled tightly, uncomfortable, and said, "Yes, well, it's still embarrassing."

"Ah, but we're all about embarrassment here!" the steward roared. He grinned at her and said, "But you're not, are you? And _that's_ why I asked to see you right away."

"Oh?" Sabrina asked, slightly interested.

"Yes," the steward said, nodding at her with a broad smile. "You're doing that training thing, yes? With our alliance? Turning us into better soldiers?"

"Umm... well, that is the plan," Sabrina agreed. "We're going on this tour partially to look for people who are interested..."

"Yes yes yes, I know all that," the steward said, "But the thing is, I don't want to wait that long. Your country's going to send us people to train us after you go home and give them all orders, and that's wonderful, but I'm in a rather precarious position, you see. The Wrong Side of the Tracks is in a bad position. Artisa has wanted it for ages, and now, with Magica- if they take us here, then they'll have a direct route into Artisa to take that as well."

This was the single most serious speech Sabrina had ever heard out of a Trickster, despite the fact that the whole thing was said with a smile on the large man's face, and she was thrown off balance for a minute before she replied, "I'm not sure what you want me to do about it, exactly."

"Why, train my men, of course!" the steward roared. "And the monkeys, too," he added as an afterthought. "They're quite talented little buggers. You'll be here for a good two weeks, and you can get a good start right now. So. Whadday say?"

"Uh... well, I suppose I could-" Sabrina said, still off-balance.

"Excellent!" the steward cried loudly. "You'll begin in the morning."

"Oh... all right..." Sabrina said, stunned.

"Good," the large man said, grinning even more broadly at her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, the room has to be set up for dinner tonight. We'll all have to clear out."

The audience apparently abruptly ended, Sabrina followed Titania back out of the room, blinking and trying to wrap her brain around what had just happened. Outside the grand hall in the sun again, she leaned towards Puck and asked quietly, "Who was that?"

He gave her an incredulous look, but thankfully didn't make any snide remarks about the great and all-knowing Sneak not knowing everything about a person, and simply said, "That's Arthenius the World Smasher! He took on a hundred men at once one time and beat them all! He started out a Sea Raider from the regular world and he came here and married a Trickster 'cause he liked it so much." He gave a small sigh and said, "He's my hero."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, unsurprised, and said nothing.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, Sabrina reentered the grand hall, through the inside entrance this time. She was better dressed, in the pink monstrosity yet again (it was actually quite a comfortable dress, despite its hideous design, and she enjoyed the looks on people's faces when they saw her- a Sneak, supposedly the queen of practicality- wearing such an enormous piece of clothing), cleaner after her first real bath in a good month, and far calmer and more in control of herself.<p>

A good part of this control came from the fact that she had spent her afternoon learning as much as she could about this Arthenius World-Smasher and his son- she hadn't even known he _had_ a son, upon arrival- and her internal list ran through her head as she walked towards her seat- between Puck and Mustardseed at the high table, on Arthenius' right- Titania, Arthenius' son, and another pretty girl, this one a bit older than Sabrina, sat on his left. This wasn't exactly typical seating arrangements, but Sabrina wasn't going to force the man out of his head seat. She doubted she could, even if she'd been so inclined.

Her list went something like this: 1) Born to two fierce Sea Raiders on one of their longboats in the high raiding season. Mother allegedly fought with sword in one hand and nursing baby in the other. 2) Given title 'World-Smasher' after a fight in which he hit the ground so hard it caused a cave-in, killing between twenty and five hundred enemies singlehandedly (reports vary. Most likely exaggerated). 3) Weapon of choice: war hammer. 4) Came to Trickster with boat full of comrades, intent to raid, instead, all settled here. 5) Married only child of previous Wrong Side of the Tracks steward. 6) Wife (small woman) died in childbirth of excessively large twin babies, girl twin died. 7) One son, fifteen: Jonas. 8) Excessively fond of all life's pleasures, particularly a good joke, a good meal, and a good girl (most likely trying to fill hole in life left by much mourned wife, chasing of young ladies began soon after). 9) A fierce fighter despite age, regularly returns to raiding habits, leaving son (steward in training) in charge under advisers.

Sabrina had distanced herself from this story, because it was rather sad, and made her slightly less disgusted by the fact that the poor, excited-looking girl in the tawdry dress who'd been given the honor of sitting at the high table would most likely end up in the World-Smasher's bed that night. And it was unacceptable that she allow behavior like that to become acceptable.

She shook her head, clearing it out because she sounded like Daphne, which was a sign that she was thinking too hard. Sitting down, she tried hard to only think of what would be for dinner. She hoped there was plenty (likely, with this host), because she was incredibly hungry for some reason.

"Hello," Mustardseed said, smiling at her from his adjacent seat. "I trust you feel much better now?"

"Oh yes," Sabrina agreed. "I'm completely recovered- though I don't think I want to go near any cliffs for a few days."

Mustardseed chuckled quietly. "Understandable."

He was going to say more, but then Arthenius banged his knife on the table and roared, "It's time for some food! Bring out the first course!"

It turned out to be an excellent turn of events that Sabrina's stress had caused her to be ravenous instead of feeling ill at the sight of food, because there was nothing at this meal for anyone who was faint of stomach. The first course was a thick, meaty stew- an odd choice for summer, even as far north as they were, instead of a salad or a cold soup- and this was followed by so many different kinds of meat, usually mixed with potatoes or a fried vegetable, that Sabrina lost track, simply taking a slice of each food the gorillas serving offered her. The final course was heavy slabs of a thick chocolate cheesecake.

By this point, most of the people in the grand hall, several of whom seemed to be just as large and exuberant as their host, were roaring drunk on the mead and beginning to make fools of themselves and each other, either by staying in their seats or by putting on impromptu jester acts and trying to outdo each other and not fall over. Sabrina was incredibly glad that she'd opted for water. Even Titania was giggling her head off, and she'd only had wine- Sabrina would have liked to know where she got that. Mustardseed had only had one mug of the mead, to be polite, he'd said, and it had become apparent that the boy couldn't hold his liquor as he laughed raucously at the failure of one of the other Tricksters to juggle.

Puck, on her other side, had been fawning over Arthenius in a rather ga-ga-eyed fashion the whole evening, and had gotten louder and more obnoxious the more he had to drink, effectively, along with his brother, canceling out any chance of conversation for Sabrina at the whole table. In fact, in the whole room, Sabrina saw only two other sober people. One was Cobweb, who sat running his finger around the rim of his own glass of water as he watched the spectacle, and the other was Arthenius's son Jonas, who must favor his mother, with his unfamiliar small, dark build and incredibly bored expression.

She wished she was close enough to talk to him, but unfortunately she wasn't. He was across the table from her, between Titania's giggles and the young girl's flirtations.

She sat back to watch drunken Tricksters act like they were excellent jesters (one of the only careers these people aspired to), and wondered how many of them actually were entertaining when they weren't tripping over their own feet and slurring their words.

Eventually, it was late enough that she wouldn't be considered rude if she headed off to bed, and she excused herself to Mustardseed and Puck, the former of whom gave her a somewhat less cordial than usual goodnight with a lazy smile, and the latter off whom barely acknowledged her.

"What?" Arthenius boomed- his main sign of drunkenness seemed to be that his voice got even louder and his motions got bigger (he'd almost backhanded Puck a few times), "Leaving already? But the party's just begun!"

As it was nearing one in the morning, Sabrina simply smiled apologetically, and said in her best diplomat fashion, "Well, I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow, and since I had that incident earlier today..."

"Bosh!" Arthenius roared, tugging on her arm, "Have some mead. Good for the nerves, settle you right down. Stay!"

Sabrina disentangled herself with some effort and said, "No, I really think I'd better go. Maybe next time."

She walked towards the door she'd entered by, and as she went, Arthenius's son pointed (not particularly surreptitiously) at a door on the other side of the hall, presumably leading to a servant's entrance, judging from the monkeys passing through it with even more mead. This door would effectively let her leave without passing Arthenius, possibly saving her time and the effort of having to tell him she was leaving. She'd honestly seen the entrance and thought about using it earlier, but decided that she didn't particularly feel like wandering about the stronghold in search of her bedrooms tonight. But she nodded gratefully to the boy, giving him the tiniest of smiles, before heading for the door she was already aiming for- no sense in passing the steward twice.

She headed for her room, checked all the hiding places she'd discovered earlier- just in case- locked all the doors and windows, changed into breeches and a blouse, and collapsed into bed, exhausted.

She didn't remember her dreams, and when she awoke, sun from her east-facing windows in her eyes, she felt a good deal more refreshed than she ought to, all things considered, and was quite cheerful. She climbed out of her small but comfortable bed and splashed some water on her face before dressing in a bluish gray gown embroidered with far too many roses to be considered necessary. The dress was frilly, feminine, and impractical looking- just the right thing to throw off the people she'd be training this morning.

She'd learned from one of the few human servants where and when she was expected to meet these people (and apes), so she wasn't as lost as she ought to be in this place as she headed for the rose garden- the stronghold was right on the edge of Trickster, which didn't have much land on this side of the Tracks, and the rose garden was simply the area between the castle and the border, with thick walls of roses on all sides to keep invaders from Artisa out.

She walked the path she'd walked yesterday, and on her way, passed the girl from the high table the night before. Technically, this girl was older than Sabrina, but watching her scurry, giggling, down the stairs in the opposite direction, Sabrina felt a good deal older and more jaded than this silly chit with her incredible lack of foresight. She shook her head sadly and walked on. How could a woman do that to herself?

She shook the thoughts out of her head, planning a beginning for her teaching as she walked. She hadn't wanted to teach, really. She'd never taught anything before, and she was nervous. But the idea was oddly appealing, and she'd decided to put her whole self into it... though she still had her doubts about whether these people would learn very well. At least the monkeys would pick something up.

Pushing open a small door, Sabrina entered the rose garden, across the palace from her bedroom, and found that she had it to herself. She smiled a little and, getting an idea, worked her way into some of the free-standing rose bushes, avoiding almost all of the thorns- one caught on her dress. She would wait and see who showed up, if anyone, and surprise them. She was early, after all. Might as well have some fun.

She'd been sitting there for a while when she heard the rustling in the bushes behind her. She didn't even have to look to know who it was, but she glanced at the shadows nearby (rosebushes weren't very thick growth, really, even this many of them), and she knew. "Hello, Puck," she said.

"Lucky guess," Puck said, his rustling getting louder.

"No," Sabrina corrected irritably, "Deduction. And the fact that you're a horrible sneak. I could hear you from a mile off. Add that to the fact that you're the only one who'd be creeping through the bushes that incompetently behind me, and..."

"Well whoopty-doo for you," Puck muttered. "What are you doing in the bushes at seven in the morning, anyway?"

"Waiting to see if anyone shows up for our host's 'training session'," Sabrina said.

"In the bushes?" Puck asked incredulously.

"What's wrong with bushes?" Sabrina asked, trying not to sound defensive. "I'm a Sneak. I like to hide. And there were bushes. So I hid."

"Yeah, but... rosebushes!" Puck said. "They have _thorns_ and _flowers_ and stuff! Besides, I could see you."

She knew she should have worn green. But still. "Well, people who can actually move _quietly_ can avoid the thorns. And some people like flowers."

She could hear the smirk in his voice as Puck said, "Well, I see at least five rips in your dress, miss Avoids the Thorns. And I _know_ you don't like flowers."

Sabrina refused to give him the satisfaction of turning to glare at him as she said, "At least I didn't _stick myself_. And how do you know I don't like flowers?"

"There's no way you like flowers," Puck said with a snort.

"For your information, I'm very fond of flowers," Sabrina said, drawing herself up tall- she was still several inches shorter than Puck, but it was the image, even if she wasn't facing him.

Puck chuckled. "Yeah, right."

The truth was that Sabrina wasn't overly fond of flowers- she like them well enough, but she didn't go out of her way to have any around, and she knew no more about them than which ones were medicinal or poisonous and the meanings they held (the code of flowers had fascinated both her and Daphne)- but she wasn't about to back down now, not that she'd told Puck that she liked them. To prove it, she picked a rose and brandished it at him.

He plucked it from her fingers with a smirk and said, "Why, thank you. A lover's token."

Sabrina snorted. "Yeah. Totally."

He picked his own rose- stabbing his finger in the process and wincing dramatically- and handed it to her with a flourishing bow. "I knew you couldn't resist me. And since you "love flowers" so much... Here you are, my lady."

"Gee... thank you," Sabrina said, looking doubtfully at the bloodstained stem.

"Listen, princess," Puck snapped, when she didn't take the flower. "I have been through enormous amounts of pain to get you this flower as a sign of esteem from the remarkable Trickster King. And you had darn well better appreciate that! So take the dang flower!"

Sabrina glared at him and plucked the rose from between his fingers, carefully avoiding the thorns, and turned away to wait for anyone to come out the door.

"Much better," Puck said, and she could hear him smiling yet again.

She fumed silently, trying her hardest to ignore his smugness and failing. Her temper had always been her weak point, and he brought out her temper incredibly.

"You know," he said after it had become apparent that she was at least _acting_ like she could ignore him, "there's not going to be anyone out for a while."

"And why is that?" she asked, her tone icy as she enunciated every word incredibly clearly.

"They're all eating breakfast," he said. "You know... in the banquet hall? Arthenius invited everyone who wanted to get trained to have breakfast first."

"No, I didn't know, actually," Sabrina snapped. "He didn't tell me anything! He just expected I'd figure it out!"

"What, you didn't eavesdrop your way into knowing everything?" Puck asked. "You did back at my palace!"

"You know what?" Sabrina snapped. "Just... stop talking, okay? Just stop. I don't have to explain myself to you, and you don't need to know."

"Well if that's the way you're going to be," Puck muttered, and she heard snaps, rustles, and mutters of "ouch!' and it became clear that he was leaving.

She breathed a sigh of relief and crouched back down to wait for someone else to arrive. It was a long wait, and she spent most of it thinking and trying to calm her temper, wishing she was less impulsive and didn't rise to his attacks as easily. It made her a walking target for someone like him, and other less well-meaning (ha!) adversaries.

After a while, people began to come out of the door, led by apes, monkeys, and small animals like raccoons. There were more than she'd expected- she'd thought there would be a smattering, but no more than fifteen- almost thirty had showed up, and that wasn't counting the little creatures. She'd have to rethink her plan of action. She began doing so as she stood up in the bushes, performing the dramatic entrance that she'd wanted and surprising them all- that would show Puck!

She tucked the rose into her dress as she worked her way out of the bushes, securing it carefully with the thorn, even though she already had a rose in her hair- a blue one disguising a razor-sharp hair clip that she'd had designed after seeing Moth's comb.

Because the funny thing is, he gave her a hundred leaved rose, and even as it's a rose and means love, that one meant pride.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ Gee, that matches the cover remarkably conveniently, doesn't it? I decided that, to celebrate our achievement of getting a new awesome cover, I would write a scene to fit it. And I think it's a pretty good scene, all things considered. Tiny bit of Puckabrina there for you. The wind is shifting! Ooh!<strong>

**Feature: The Sisters Grimm: Sleeping Beauty, by Demigod536  
><strong>A completed oneshot, so you don't have to wait for updates. It's a fairly straightforward retelling of Sleeping Beauty with Sabrina and Puck as the main characters. Nothing too spectacular, but not too short and pretty sweet, with a good command over the English language, with some nice touches otherwise.

Guest 1: **Thanks! ^.^ I'm glad it's appreciated! That would be an interesting class.  
><strong>

Guest 2:** :)**

Guest 3:**Whoops. Missed that. I'll fix it, thanks for pointing it out! The falling bit was spur of the moment and entirely too fun to write. ...Are you Epiphany on Toast? I think you are because cummerbund. QotU: Underwater Basket Weaving. That would be kind of really neat.**

Guest 4:** Well, since you're on chapter ONE... I don't think I have to be too worried about updating fast enough for you (this is why copy and paste reviews are BAD).**


	18. Hormones

**AN~ Lesson for you all, guys: if you have people waiting on you, DO NOT go out of your way to find a new webcomic and read the entire archive when you ought to be writing to make a deadline. (Sorry 'bout that. It was a good webcomic, though.)  
><strong>

**Also: DUDE DUDE DUDE THANK YOU ALL SO FREAKING MUCH I MADE SECOND PLACE IN ELLIGOAT'S TBSGS2012! OMG I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH! WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU TO MAKE THIS UP TO YOU. SPEAK.**

QotU: What's the best excuse you can think up for not cleaning your bedroom?

**Old QotU Winner: Gifted Shadows. No eyeshadow under your eye girls and no saggy pants boys.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Sabrina began her teaching with stretches. None of the people who had come liked this, but she insisted, telling them that they were here to learn to fight, and unless they wanted leg cramps taking them out before the enemy could, they'd better stretch.<p>

There were a number of groans, but eventually her students began sitting down, and she started showing them her normal routine of stretches.

It almost physically hurt her to do the next thing, but she'd seen Snow do it, and as Snow was one of the best teachers she'd ever had, she figured she might as well follow her model- it was the same subject and everything, conveniently enough- so she set them to stretching and went around to each person in the group, learning their names and showing them how they could improve, pushing them just the tiniest bit further into the stretch.

Jonas was there, she noticed. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Puck was also there, as were Mustardseed and a few other soldiers from the progress. The others were strangers to her, though some of them looked like they'd been with her the previous night. None looked to be older than thirty, or younger than thirteen.

"This is a bigger turnout than I was expecting," she told Mustardseed softly as she guided his sternum closer to his knee.

"It would seem you've made an impression," Mustardseed told her with a smile. "Am I doing this right?"

Sabrina felt his lower back, searching for tension. "You can go farther," she told him.

He leaned down with a grunt and said, "But it's uncomfortable."

"It's supposed to be," she said with a small smile. "That's how you know you're doing it right. Your muscles should feel tight, maybe even hurt a bit."

"Why?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't really know. They explained it in school, something about the muscles reforming. All I paid attention to was the fact that when I didn't do it, it hurt like you wouldn't believe."

He chuckled, then looked at her with wide eyes. "You mean you didn't just believe them?"

She laughed. "You kidding? I didn't pay attention to theory at all in school until last year. All I wanted was the action. It got me in trouble, but my teachers said that sometimes the best way to learn is to make the mistakes yourself. Then you'll have the consequences to remind you not to make them again."

"Well," Mustardseed said, and he sounded surprised.

"What?" she asked. "What's so shocking?"

"Well... I just thought you were less... more..."

As he was obviously struggling, she filled in, "More like you? Less thoughtless?" She smiled. "I fake it pretty well. I was at my worst when I was eleven. I almost ran off to look for my parents by myself, if you can believe it."

"At eleven?" Mustardseed spluttered.

She nodded. "Multiple times. Broke my arm doing it once."

He shook his head, chuckling to himself.

"Now what?" she asked irritably.

"It's nothing," he assured her. "It's just... you may have more in common with my brother than we thought."

Sabrina didn't deign that with a reply. Instead, she asked, "What you said earlier... about me making an impression? What did you mean?"

"They've seen what you can do and they want to be able to do some of it too," Mustardseed said, again sounding like this ought to be obvious. "And I must say, the fact that you've convinced not just one but more than twenty Tricksters to do work is quite a point in my esteem."

Sabrina hid her blush with a laugh and stood up quickly, saying as nonchalantly as possible, "I'd better move on. Don't want people thinking I'm giving you an unfair amount of help."

Mustardseed smiled up at her and said, "Go on. I understand."

Sabrina refrained from pointing out that she hadn't exactly been asking for permission to go, and moved on down the ragtag line of her students. Goodness, that sounded odd. Who'd have ever thought Sabrina Grimm could be a teacher?

After they'd finished stretching, Sabrina moved to the front of the crowd and shouted, "All right! Who here thinks they know how to punch?"

There were a bunch of affirmative shouts and whoops.

"I'll bet you ten silvers you're wrong," she told them all. She kept inside her amusement that a country that considered physical violence pathetic and the easy way out had so many boys who were excited about fighting.

The crowd muttered, and she heard some arguments.

She smiled slightly and said, "All right, then prove it." She pulled a piece of padding out of a back pocket on her dress, which got somewhat less enormous, and held it up. "Line up and punch this."

The Tricksters formed a long cluster winding between the rose bushes that could loosely be defined as a line, and began punching her target as she watched them, directing each person who had punched back to the end of the line. Only two of the soldiers had satisfactory punches.

"Well," Sabrina said, once they'd finished. "You, and you," she pointed to the two soldiers who'd been good. "I owe you both ten silvers. See me when we're finished. Your other reward is that you two get to be my assistants today!"

There were more groans and muttered complaints.

Sabrina looked at them irritably. "You want to learn to fight, you have to be able to punch well. Be grateful I didn't start you with blocks." She raised her voice. "Everybody form two lines, one in front of each of these two fine gentlemen." She hoped they didn't notice the sarcasm as she handed both men half of her target.

The boys muttered and complained, but did what she said, and she smiled, then started going around showing people how to improve.

"Never," she told one particularly energetic boy firmly, "_ever_ put your thumb on the inside of your fist. You hit anything harder than a pillow and you'll break your fingers as well as whatever you hit." She showed him how to do it. "See, you put your thumb outside, tucked down so it doesn't touch your target at all- it's just there to keep your other fingers together." She patted him on the shoulder and moved on.

For one soldier she stuck her rose into the target so he'd have something to aim at, because all his punches landed on the padding, but in different spots, pushing it to the side instead of shoving the person holding it backwards.

"You need to twist more," she told another boy. "You need more torque. That way you'll-"

"Torque?" he interrupted, looking at her, confused.

"Spinning power," she told him. "See, if you stick your weak hand out before-" she put her hand on his shoulder, then pulled it back sharply, twisting her shoulders as her other hand shot out in a fist towards his stomach. "- you have a lot more power." She smiled at him as he gaped at her.

"Start from your waist," she told a man who'd overheard her talking to the boy who needed torque. "Fist palm up next to your hip. Then turn it as you shoot it out. It increases the torque even more."

She stood back and watched them punch for a minute, smiling slightly. They'd actually improved.

One boy, about her age, though, wasn't showing much improvement, and he knew it. "I don't see why we have to spend so much time on one thing," she heard him mutter, "I'm fine like this."

"What was that?" Sabrina asked, rounding on the boy.

"I said I don't need to learn any more," he said stubbornly, glaring at her.

"You think you're good enough now?" Sabrina asked, raising one eyebrow at him.

He nodded, his face set.

"How many of you think you're done learning to punch?" Sabrina asked the group.

Several hands were raised. Sabrina shook her head sadly. She shouldn't be surprised, really.

"All right, then," she said. "Do you think you can take me?"

The number of raised hands dropped significantly.

"All right then," she said to the few with their hands up. "Let's go at it. Punches only- unless you throw in something else." She smiled at them. It was not a nice smile.

"What- all of us?" one young man asked.

"Why not?" Sabrina said with a shrug. "It'll be interesting."

She knew she shouldn't be doing this. She hadn't sparred with anyone in over six months. She was setting herself up for failure. But she couldn't help feeling excited as a circle cleared around her and the six boys and men who thought they could outfight her came forward. She loved fights. Even back when she was ten and eleven and couldn't fight her way out of a gunnysack, she's always been exhilarated by throwing punches, dodging them, kicking people, and running the heck away. And now that Snow had gotten her somewhat passable, she loved them even more. She just hoped that she wasn't out of practice enough that these Tricksters would outdo her.

She waited, fists up, eyes shifting from one opponent to another as she bounced on her toes and breathed deeply. A bird sang in the background. She noted that Puck was one of the six surrounding her. She smiled.

One of the ones behind her ran forward. She heard his footfalls and spun, knocking his fist out of the way- it was the first boy, the one who'd complained. His punch was erratic, heading for what would have been her shoulder blade, which would have damaged him as much as her. He threw another punch, towards her head. She slid to the side and sent him at another of the boys who'd run at her. There was a crunch as fist met cheekbone- that wasn't a good sign.

The fight picked up speed then, and she was dodging and blocking punches right and left- she didn't throw any, partly because she didn't have time to without leaving herself open for a hit, and partly because it was much more fun to slide to the side and let them destroy each other. She didn't want any of them to come calling later because the queen of their future allies had beaten them up. But still. It would be incredibly satisfactory to just land _one_ good hit on one of them- preferably Puck. Right in the gut, maybe.

She waited, dodging and blocking, and then it happened- the first boy got frustrated and sent his foot into her stomach. She flew backwards into Puck- she'd been waiting, but hadn't been watching closely enough, and hadn't had time to block the kick. She pushed herself off of her fiance, ignoring the warmth and comfort of his chest against her back, and looked around. Everyone was staring at her.

She smiled the tiniest bit and said, "Finally."

The boy came at her again, and she shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet as he barreled down on her. Once he got close enough, she spun, whipping herself around as her foot shot straight out and upwards from her side, slamming into his chin and sending him just as far back. He staggered backwards as his neck snapped loudly, and the others ran forward.

It was an all-out brawl now, and she was allowed to do whatever she wanted. She took advantage of this, spinning and jumping and kicking and punching to her heart's content. The five remaining Tricksters got in a few good hits, but at the end she won, and she stood in the center, alone and panting.

She pushed some hair of of her eyes, brushing away some sweat that had gathered on her forehead at the same time, and smiled. It had been a long time since she'd had that much fun. Then she was hit with a wave of sadness and her smile dropped off her face. She wanted to go _home_, where it was acceptable to get in a fight with someone in public without everyone thinking you were lazy. Where she could sneak without people getting nervous. Where she fit in.

She looked at the others, who were still standing on the other side of a row of rose bushes, staring at her, awed. "I think we're done for today," she said. "I hope I've showed you why you're never done practicing."

Several people nodded nervously, and the group began trickling away. Sabrina turned to the six boys who were still on the field, looking very much worse for the wear. She was tempted to leave them there, but she had a feeling that would give her a bad reputation, and she couldn't afford one right now.

"Umm... excuse me?" someone asked.

She turned- it was Jonas. She realized she'd never heard him speak before. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to say that that was fantastic," Jonas said in a rush, "And I was wondering if you could show me more- I- I- I want to be able to do what you do."

Guessing why he'd stumbled over that last bit, Sabrina smiled the tiniest bit, then warned him, "It's a lot of work."

"I don't care," he said.

"And I won't be able to teach you everything. We're only here for two weeks- maybe less. There's no way I can get you up to par that fast."

"I know," Jonas said, "But I don't care. You can show me stuff to do after you leave, ways to practice and get better."

Sabrina looked him up and down. He was smallish, with a good build for sneaking. His face was unfortunately pale, but his hair was dark and would blend well even without a hood. He didn't look very strong, but that could be fixed. And his face was extremely determined, those so-brown-they're-black eyes set.

She nodded and said, "All right. But not now. I need to get these six to Cobweb, and then I need food- I haven't eaten since last night."

"Why?" Jonas asked. "Why not just leave them there?"

Sabrina shook her head and said, "Because one of them's my fiance and the others were just stupid. I can't afford the bad reputation I would get for beating six young men and leaving them in the dirt." She smiled slightly and said, "Besides, it was fun."

"So... after lunch you'll show me more?" Jonas asked, going over to one of the six groaning boys and lifting him by the armpits.

"After dinner," Sabrina corrected. "I'm supposed to be given a tour after lunch."

"Dinner?" Jonas asked, his face falling. "But... dinner will be another party."

Sabrina shrugged, lifting her own former opponent. "Then we'll leave early. I'm sure we can sneak out."

"All right," Jonas agreed.

They dragged their two charges to Cobweb's room- Jonas showed her where it was, thankfully, because she'd have had to wander around looking for it for a bit, and went out for another two, leaving Cobweb tutting over the first two. While they'd been away, one of the other boys had gotten up. Sabrina directed him to follow them as they took two more, leaving Puck on the dirt path alone (she'd beaten him rather badly) to return to Cobweb.

"Do you have a doctor of your own here?" Sabrina asked Jonas as they went.

"Not in the palace," Jonas said, "but there's one in the town."

"Good," Sabrina said, satisfied. "Then I won't have offended anybody else."

"Why do you care about offending people?" Jonas asked. "I thought Sneaks hated Tricksters. Shouldn't you just want to get out of here?"

"Oh, I do," Sabrina agreed. "But I have to get along with you all, otherwise the treaty falls through and we all die or become Magicians- unless my eleven year old sister can save us all. Which she may be able to do, I suppose."

"Is that the only reason you're talking to me?" Jonas asked. "Because you have to?"

Sabrina shook her head with a smile and said, "I'm talking to you because you're having a civil conversation with me and you have yet to do anything disgusting, immature, or infuriating. I think I might enjoy your company, Jonas. And there have been very few people whose company I've enjoyed lately."

"Oh," Jonas said, brightening.

They'd reached Cobweb's room again. Sabrina deposited her cargo and sent Jonas off, telling him that she could get Puck on her own. And she could. He might be taller than she was, and he might eat like a starving pig, but he was very thin, and she was stronger than she looked. In fact, she decided to be nice to him, and instead of dragging him by the armpits as she'd been doing the others, she picked him up entirely, cradling him with her arms under his knees and back.

She staggered a bit under his weight- she could manage, but it wasn't as easy as she'd thought it would be, as she was already tired- then walked towards Cobweb's room for the third time that day.

She studied him as she walked. When she'd first met him, she'd thought that his face was quite nice, even if his personality wasn't, and she still thought as much. And now that he wasn't being obnoxious, she could enjoy his somewhat damaged features. She felt a small twinge of guilt for hurting him, and shoved it aside, telling herself that he'd deserved it._  
><em>

But still...

She shook that thought out of her head before it could be finished.

Puck stirred and groaned. She made a face, staggering again. Moving bodies were harder to carry than nonmoving ones. She ought have tied him to her back or something.

She continued walking, beginning to feel her own bruises. There were a few more than she'd originally thought there were. Perhaps she ought to go see Cobweb herself. But then her stomach growled, and she decided against it. She could live with bruises. She had before. And goodness, she was hungry.

Puck stirred again. Sabrina glared down at him, willing him to stop moving.

Goodness gracious, he was fine looking.

His arms found their way around her neck as they walked, somehow, and even stranger than this- Daphne had done the same thing, so Sabrina wasn't very surprised when Puck did- was that she enjoyed their feeling, the touch of his skin on hers.

She shook her head again, deciding that the lack of food, along with her hormone-addled body, must be causing her to think differently than usual. She wouldn't normally be thinking this.

Although, now that she thought about it, it had been over two months since she'd thought mournfully of Bradley and hated Puck more for indirectly being the reason she couldn't have him.

She couldn't- she couldn't _fancy_ Puck, could she?

Well, she could. She'd fancied worse people in her time- like Robin Hood. That had been a mistake. He'd turned out to be very controlling. And married. But this was Puck. And the idea of fancying him was just ludicrous.

No, it was most definitely the monthlies. They could make her find a rock attractive, if the mood struck them.

She ignored the difference between attraction and admiration, shoving it to the side of her brain where she wouldn't have to consider it.

And of course, when she leaned down right outside of Cobweb's door and kissed Puck lightly on the forehead, that was entirely her hormones as well. Entirely. And she felt absolutely nothing afterward, or during, other than guilt, and not very much of that.

Until she felt a strong gust of air on her face and heard the distinct sound of someone forcibly blowing something away from their mouth.

She started upwards, surprised, and saw that Puck's eyes were open, and not open in the way that meant he'd just awoken, but bright, amused, and entirely too aware.

"You're awake," she said, realizing. Any feelings she might have but most likely hadn't had disappeared, replaced by anger. "How long have you been awake?" she demanded.

"A while," Puck said, grinning at her.

Infuriated, Sabrina dropped him, forgetting that his arms were around her neck. It destroyed her intention to be dramatic when he dragged her down towards the ground with him, but she untangled herself and glared at him furiously for a few seconds, saying nothing. She stalked away, leaving him on the floor outside of Cobweb's room, face bright red.

No, she decided, she most certainly did _not_ fancy Puck.

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><p><strong>AN~ Well, was it worth the extra day-to-two-days wait?<strong>

**Feature: "The Princess and the Trickster" by Lumiere Nordiques  
><strong>A twoshot, this time. Fairly well written. It's a dream sequence, but still fits the bill. The opening bit, where Sabrina's like, 'I'm a princess? What?' is a bit awkward and cliche, but after that it gets good, if a bit fast-moving (what? It's a dream!). The second chapter is set on the Titanic. It's a bit messier and not quite as good, but still quite cute and worth a look.

**A Review Reply:**

Guest: **Thanks! Glad you like it that much!**


	19. Previous Title is an Anachronism

**AN~ ON TIME THIS WEEK! YEAH! 'Kay, so if you already read this and reviewed, sorry, I deleted it and reposted it, there are no changes other than the spelling of the chapter title.**

QotU: What's the best possible pet? You can pick any animal that exists. Why is it awesome?

**Old QotU Winner: Estrangelo Edessa. Because.**

* * *

><p>Puck sat on the floor for several minutes, watching Sabrina leave and rubbing his forehead. What had that been about? She'd just kissed him. On the forehead, granted, but still. His unwanted fiancee had just made lip contact with him. That was simply...<p>

He didn't understand females.

He went in to Cobweb's room and let the man doctor him up before heading to lunch. He was famished.

He was also confused.

Sabrina had kissed him. And yet when she found out that he was awake, she'd been furious. He supposed that it could be that she was furious because he'd led her to believe that he needed to be carried to Cobweb when he could have walked, but it was just too funny to have her carry him- a little thing like her carrying almost six feet of someone else (he knew she was perfectly capable despite her size, but that didn't change the fact that it was amusing). But that hadn't seemed like all of it. Why on earth would she be upset that he knew he'd kissed her? Because that was the only other reason she could have been angry. And weren't females supposed to try to go after men's attentions? All the girls in Trickster flirted incessantly with the boys. It was the only way to get their attentions other than prank wars, and most of them were too feminine for those.

The fact that Sabrina was different from every girl Puck had ever met temporarily escaped him as he wondered why she'd kissed him at all. He was perfectly aware that he was desireable- he and the females at home had established this- but Sabrina had always seemed so aloof, so disgusted by him. And he'd wanted it that way. It was far less confusing.

Maybe his confusing behavior had done some good after all. He'd been trying to throw her off balance, trick her into thinking he wasn't who she thought he was (she was right), and perhaps it had worked.

He doubted it. She'd spent a good part of the morning hitting him.

And by all things holy, she was an amazing hitter. An amazing fighter in general. It was incredibly attractive, watching her fight. He hoped he'd get to see that again. Because while he thought that fighting was taking the wimp's way out, he admitted the need for a good right hook, and he could admire her skills. And maybe even pick some of them up. It could be useful. Particularly if he learned enough that he could fight her and win.

Maybe next time he'd be the one carrying her.

That would be different. He wouldn't be nearly as gentle as she'd been. He'd just throw her over his shoulder and walk, that would work well. And he most certainly wouldn't kiss her.

Ever.

Even if he had kind of enjoyed-

...The... look... on her face... when he showed her he was awake. Yes. That. He most certainly hadn't enjoyed the rather sweet and loving way she'd pressed her lips lightly against his forehead.

In fact, the 'sweet and loving' part must have been imagined, because there was nothing sweet or loving about that girl. She was cold, hard, and stubborn, like a rock. He didn't believe she was capable of being sweet.

Forcing these thoughts out of his mind, Puck walked into the grand hall to have lunch, deciding that his confusion was a result of too little food and too much banging on the head, as well as the infuriating tendency of females to complicate things.

* * *

><p>"Father," Jonas said, approaching his rather hungover parent cautiously- he knew how much it hurt his father's head if he walked to heavily when he was in a state like this.<p>

They were in his father's simple bedroom after lunch- or Jonas' lunch. Arthenius didn't appear to have moved since he stumbled into bed the night before (morning, technically).

"What is it?" Arthenius moaned, rolling over in bed to look, bleary-eyed, at his son. "And don't talk so loud."

Jonas dropped his voice to the lowest possible whisper, handing his father a drink as he said, "I wanted to talk to you. About something important. I can wait, though. If you're not feeling well."

Arthenius chugged the drink incredibly quickly and said, "No, no, now is as good as any time."

"All right," Jonas said, refilling his father's cup. "I was wondering if... Would you mind... Would it be all right... Can I... Can I leave? With the progress?"

"What?" Arthenius demanded loudly, sitting up straight and then clutching his head with a moan, spilling his drink.

Jonas placed his pitcher on the floor, picked up the fallen cup, took out the rag he'd brought in case of just this situation, and began cleaning up his father's mess. "You know I'm not happy here," Jonas said quietly. "And I hate to leave you alone here, Father, but... I went to learn from Sabrina today, and... it was amazing, Father! The things she can do! I want to learn to do them. And I'll never learn to do that here. I'll never even really _fit_ here. So I want to go somewhere that I might fit." Having finished cleaning up, he refilled his father's drink and handed it to him.

Arthenius sighed and said, "All right. Go. And be happy. I'll miss you, though. You're as amazing a nurse as your mother."

Jonas gave a lopsided smile to his father, a little embarrassed. "I'll write."

"You know they're going to hate you for this," Arthenius cautioned him, wiping his mouth after another chug of his water. "They'll call you a deserter, a betrayer, for going over to Sneak."

Jonas shrugged and said, "I know. Besides," he smiled again. "I rather like the sound of that. Jonas the Betrayer."

Arthenius chuckled and said, "You really are your father's son."

Jonas walked out with a smile.

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><p>Sabrina trained Jonas more after her tour in the afternoon and dinner that evening, back in the rose garden. He was incredibly good at this for someone born in Trickster, and very driven. She found she enjoyed working with him- though the way he seemed to idolize her was a a bit awkward.<p>

Her two-week stay in the Wrong Side of the Tracks followed the pattern of that first day, actually. She would get up and have breakfast on her own (she didn't make the mistake of skipping it again), afterwards she would have lunch and get to know the area and the Tricksters there some more, she would have dinner, and she would train Jonas privately.

The number of people and apes varied by the day. Once in a while she'd get a girl who would come to learn, a tomboy Trickster girl, and some boys and men never came back after she showed them up in some way, but she generally had between twenty and thirty humans in her class, as well as however many apes could be spared. She found she enjoyed teaching them for the most part. It was a good way to relieve stress as well as improve Trickster-Sneak relations.

She didn't spend much time with Puck over the course of this two weeks, thankfully. And the time she did spend with him was usually with other people, though even on the rare occasion that they were alone, he made no mention of the incident. Gradually, her awkwardness around him diminished, though her heart still beat more quickly than usual when he appeared. She put this down to anxiousness, ignoring the possibility that it could be something else entirely.

When they left the Wrong Side of the Tracks, heading south, Sabrina's lessons continued somehow. She hadn't expected them to. In fact, she'd expected that most of the people who came with her would be downright grateful for an excuse to stop doing something that bordered on_ work_.

But when they spent their next travel-free day stopped on the far side of the Tracks (Sabrina had crossed in the center of the land bridge and the progress, just in case) and Sabrina had started to do her own stretches off by herself, several guards, and a few others, as well as Puck, showed up, stretching alongside her.

She had to throw a lesson together that day, because she'd been completely unprepared to teach anyone anything. But she did reasonably well, all things considered, and she found her lessons continuing as the progress did.

Jonas came with them when they left. Sabrina hadn't expected that, either, because nobody had joined them from any other part of Trickster. She enjoyed his company, though. He was more like a Sneak than a Trickster, and it was nice to have someone around who understood her, sometimes. Other times he got a bit irritating, like the younger brother she should have had.

They made their way through the rest of Trickster with no further life-threatening incidents or major changes. Puck seemed to be learning as much about his kingdom as Sabrina was, though the people they met tended to like him better. Each subsect of Trickster had different customs or beliefs, and Puck took them all in calmly. It was fascinating, the way that he got along with these people. Sabrina rather thought that, if he had someone who supported him instead of belittling him to rule alongside, he might even be a decent, understanding king. For this country. She wanted him to stay out of her own land.

In fact, she was seeing a great deal about the Trickster King that she wouldn't have expected. About Tricksters in general. They all seemed to be far smarter than she'd originally surmised, particularly their king. She supposed that pranks such as theirs required working brains. They were just... misguided. And they liked it that way. She didn't understand, but she felt that if they could put their pranks to the defense of their kingdom, they would be in excellent shape. In fact, she ought to consider that for in case Daphne failed.

They returned to Trickster's capital late in the fall, right before the first snow fell. Sabrina hoped sincerely that she wouldn't be stuck in Trickster for another winter.

Her hope was answered.

Titania decided that it was worth the risk to send her elder son and his fiance back to Sneak, most likely using some Magician trick to discern whether there would be a blizzard. Sabrina and Puck were sent with a small retinue, mostly made up of Sabrina's students and Jonas, to the nearest port, in early December.

Most of the ship's captains were wary of traveling in the beginning of winter, when the seas got stormy, but the purse Titania had sent with Sabrina convinced them.

The journey _was_ incredibly tumultuous. Sabrina was seasick quite a bit, although she normally wasn't prone to it. She took pleasure in the fact that Puck, who still hadn't ceased attempting and failing to sneak up on her, was sick more than she was.

Jonas was completely at ease, and Sabrina pinned it down to his father's blood running through his veins, even as she looked at his cheeful face with disgust and muttered, "I hate you."

They arrived in Sneak, boat still intact, at the start of the new year. Snow and several guards were waiting for them, despite the fact that Sabrina hadn't sent them a message about her arrival- hadn't even known exactly when she would be there.

"It's fantastic!" Jonas exclaimed, looking out at the city beyond the docks, leaning up against the railing at the ship's bow.

Sabrina, next to him, smiled at the organized chaos that was her city, the dark, shadowy mass of buildings on top of buildings inside of caves, and breathed in deeply, the mix of earth and salt hitting her nostrils in a way it hadn't in over a year. "It's good to be home," she said with a smile.

"What a mess," Puck, almost suddenly on her other side, muttered.

Sabrina refused to be riled up and said, "Still didn't sneak. Besides," she smiled at him, "Your city isn't much better."

"My city is a thousand times better!" Puck protested.

"No it's not," Jonas said breathlessly. "This is the kind of place you could get lost for weeks. Trickster has signs all over the place."

"And none of them point in the right direction," Sabrina muttered.

"Still," Jonas said, "How many signs does Sneak have?"

"That depends on what kind of signs you're talking about," Sabrina said. "In English? Almost none. But in code? Plenty."

"Code?" Jonas asked. "Will you teach me?"

Sabrina smiled and said, "Well, you'd be better with my sister for that. But I guess so."

"Excellent!" Jonas exclaimed. "I can't wait!"

They had reached the dock by now, and the bridge to it had been lowered. Sabrina ran down the planks and into Snow's arms, holding in a squeal. Snow might be nice sometimes, but she was older than that now. It wouldn't be good for her kingdom if their queen broke down in a girlish fit right when she got home. They'd be afraid Trickster had changed her.

Snow hugged her back just as hard, not even staggering as the weight of a fifteen year old queen slammed into her. "We've missed you," she whispered into Sabrina's ear. "And there are some things you need to hear."

"Like what?" Sabrina whispered back.

"Not now," Snow muttered.

Sabrina nodded and pulled back. The two boys had left the ship too, and were standing behind her while all around them things were unloaded.

"Snow," Sabrina said, "This is His Majesty Puck, the Trickster King, and Jonas the Betrayer, heir to the stewardship of the Wrong Side of the Tracks." Jonas had told her his new nickname and she'd found it incredibly amusing, but used it to humor him. "Boys, this is Snow White, one of the best warriors in the world, and head trainer of combat in Sneak."

Snow curtsied to the two young men, and they bowed back- Sabrina was surprised that Puck bowed at all, so she didn't mind that it was barely more than a deep nod.

"We have a carriage off the docks," Snow said, "Will you be interested in it, Sabrina?"

Sabrina sighed. "I ought to, oughtn't I?"

Snow looked Sabrina up and down, taking in her simple dress, braided hair, and sturdy, soft boots. "Well, I suppose you ought, but..."

Sabrina looked pitifully at Snow. Puck sniggered behind her, and Sabrina dropped the pitiful look to make an irritated face. She knew she wasn't particularly good at being adorable. Daphne, with her big brown eyes, was much better at it.

"Go ahead and run," Snow said with an exasperated sigh. "Your grandmother won't like it, though."

Sabrina waved at Snow, acknowledging that comment, already running. She leapt across the uneven boards of the docks onto the street, waving at the man on top of the carriage with a smile, heading back into the city. She wove between the buildings, looking at how much had changed and how much had stayed the same, gleefully noting that she still remembered her way around. She didn't take any detours, because now wasn't the time, but it was still full dark when she reached the palace, sliding through a gap at the base of the Wall to enter the courtyard.

"You're late," Snow noted.

Sabrina, panting heavily, knew she shouldn't be surprised that Snow was standing right in front of her entrance- it was her favorite, after all- but she was too tired to pretend she wasn't. She leaned down, hands on her knees, concentrating on breathing until she could say, "I'm out of practice."

"I could tell," Snow said dryly. "Otherwise you'd have remembered to walk before you cramped."

Sabrina made a face. She had forgotten. She stood up straight, holding in a groan, and began to pace, arms over her head.

"Much better," Snow said, sounding satisfied.

"So," Sabrina asked, still breathing heavily, "What did you need to tell me?"

Snow shook her head. "Not me. Your grandmother."

Sabrina made a face. "Does that mean-"

"No, I won't tell you anything," Snow said.

Sabrina sighed. "Of course not." She looked up at the palace and asked, "Is she very upset with me?"

"I wouldn't know," Snow said, "I've been waiting for you. But I'd guess she's more disappointed. The rest of us have been here for nearly an hour."

"Oh," Sabrina said softly.

"You know," Snow said, "The point of a shortcut is that it's supposed to be _faster_."

"Yes, well, I'm... out of practice," Sabrina said.

Snow chuckled and said, "Well, you'll do better next time. Are you done stretching?"

Sabrina, who could now breathe normally again, nodded.

"Well, shall we go in, then?" Snow asked. "Your grandmother was waiting for you to begin dinner. And they've been waiting for quite some time."

Sabrina took a deep breath, straightened her skirt, and nodded. She stepped forward, towards the castle.

"Wait!" Snow said, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back suddenly.

"What is it?" Sabrina asked.

Snow grabbed Sabrina's hair gently, and unbraided it, her fingers moving deftly through the strands, finger-combing it flat. Sabrina relaxed as the woman's hands worked, the gesture reminding her of Daphne. She would only let a few people touch her hair, and Snow was one of them. After Snow finished with the young queen's hair, she straightened her dress and brushed her down.

"There you go," Snow said, satisfaction evident in her voice as she stood in front of Sabrina, holding her at arm's length by the shoulders. "You're not stellar, but you're presentable now."

"Thank you," Sabrina said, and she meant it. She wanted to make the best possible impression on her grandmother, even if she was late. She'd been gone for a year, and she wanted to prove she was still as good a Sneak as she'd been when she left, not affected badly by her time in Trickster.

"You should wear your hair down more often," Snow said thoughtfully, looking Sabrina up and down closely. "It looks very nice."

"I'd like to," Sabrina said, hoping the darkness masked her happy flush- she thought the same thing herself, when she allowed time for frivolous thoughts like that- "but it's so very impractical. It's much more useful when I have it braided."

Snow laughed and said, "Not everything has to be useful, you know. Sometimes you can do things just to enjoy them."

"I know," Sabrina said, "But... what would everyone think if I started dressing just for looks?"

"They'd think 'my, what a beautiful young woman'," Snow said with a smile.

Sabrina's fading blush returned with a vengeance, and she muttered, "No they wouldn't. They'd think I was going soft on them." She began walking forward again.

"You know, beauty can be a tool, too," Snow said, seemingly offhandedly after walking alongside her for a few seconds. "You can use it to your advantage, as an extra edge to turn people's opinions in your favor. It's sad, but true- people like the beautiful more than the ugly."

"But I don't want to be that kind of woman," Sabrina protested. "A temptress? It seems like... like I'm cheating, somehow. Relying on things other than skill. And what happens when I get old?"

"Not a temptress," Snow corrected, "Nothing that overt. Just... making use of all the tools you have available to you."

"I don't know..." Sabrina said doubtfully.

"Sabrina, do _I _look like a temptress to you?" Snow asked. "Did your mother?"

"Well, no..." Sabrina said doubtfully. While it was true that Snow and her mother were both beautiful women, neither seemed to flaunt it.

"Do you think either of us wake up in the morning looking like we do?" Snow asked.

Truthfully, that was what Sabrina had thought, though the way Snow said it made it seem like a foolish idea. "I suppose not," she said.

"This is what I mean about looks," Snow said with a smile. "Work to look your best without throwing yourself out there."

"All right," Sabrina said doubtfully.

Snow patted Sabrina on the shoulder and said, "Think about it."

Sabrina would think about it. But not now. Now she'd reached the castle doors, and she steeled herself to walk in, to see her grandmother for the first time in over a year.

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><p><strong>AN~ This chapter didn't come out at ALL like I was planning. But that's okay. It worked to catch Sabrina up to Daphne in our timeline.<strong>

**Feature: "It's the year 1835" by MELUVBOOKS  
><strong>At first it seems like a historical fiction AU, but on closer inspection it's a LOT like this story's setting- though still very different, with a lot more mystery than mine. Sabrina is a commoner with no memory in Puck's kingdom, and she's a spy. When she's sent to the palace, things get complicated. Great storyline, though the way it's told could use a bit of improvement.

**A Review Reply:**

LeeAndAnna: **Thanks so much! I'm trying very hard to keep this from getting too far from the books, because otherwise I might as well write a plain old original story. QotU: That's a pretty good excuse. Don't know why you're keeping valuables in your room though.**

me: **Glad you like it! I don't think I can fit the ticklish idea in here, though. Puck's never even met Daphne in this story. And Sabrina's all ninja-y. She's not about to let Puck get close enough to tickle her.**

sisterlazypants/a nun in disguise:** I didn't know you'd converted. Trickster is pretty cool. Sneak is cooler. Scholar is the best. Do you know how many roses I had to look through to find one that looked like the one on the cover AND meant something meaningful? (What's a hard job?) ...I was going to point out how he got his name, but then I realized that was in the chapter I just wrote, and it wasn't published yet.**


	20. Pucking Around

**AN~ Gee, lots of homework really does make me write faster. I mean, look at that! A whole day ahead! But now I have no excuse, I must to essaying. :(  
><strong>

QotU: Graffiti time! You can paint anything you want on any wall or ceiling anywhere without getting in trouble. What do you paint where?

**Old QotU Winner: LeeAndAnna want a velociraptor. That's just cool, man.  
><strong>

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><p>Puck watched Sabrina finally enter the room, hoping that her grandmother would give her a stern lecture about making people wait and being responsible. See how she liked it!<p>

The lecture never came.

Sabrina looked at her grandmother with a bit of remorse in her face and said, "I know I was late." She offered no apology.

The regent of Sneak, instead of saying something stern, grinned broadly at the young queen and wrapped her in a hug that even Puck could tell was far too tight, and he was standing ten feet away. "I've missed you, _liebling_," she said softly, though loud enough that Puck could hear her.

"I missed you, too," Sabrina said, quieter- Puck had to strain to pick it up. And... were those _tears_ in her eyes? The oh-so-tough Queen of the Sneaks was _crying_?

Puck had to fight to keep his expression neutral as Sabrina and her grandmother released each other, and Relda turned to the small crowd in the room and called, "My granddaughter is home. Now, let's go eat. Finally."

Sabrina flushed a little, smiled at those below her in the entry hall, and led the way through what looked like a solid wall on the side of the room. Puck stared. If all the doors in Sneak were like this, he'd be lost in no time. It was kind of neat, actually, and he'd like a few more doors that people couldn't find in Trickster, to watch people try to escape a room with no door... and maybe a few fake doors that were really walls, but he felt like this would be a problem for him here.

The next room over was way more comfortable than the last one, a big, drafty, echoey hall with not enough torches. This was a well-lit medium-big dark brown room with several long tables running down its length. He blinked as a series of humans dressed in black trousers or skirts under white aprons walked in, placing food on the tables as everyone else sat down, somehow reaching their chairs as the servants (_human_ servants!) made their way away from the tables, without running into anybody.

Puck waited and sat down once everyone else had, taking an empty chair next to Sabrina, grateful that Jonas, too, looked overwhelmed. At least the squirt was just as confused as he was. Small comfort, but he'd take what he could get.

He went to eat his food, then stopped. "What_ is_ this?" he demanded.

Sabrina leaned over a little and looked down at his plate, then said, "Eel stewed in kelp. It's actually not that bad- better than most things the kitchens come up with."

Puck poked it with his fork. It jiggled.

Sabrina and the others had all begun eating at the same time, as if there was some secret signal that it was time to begin, so Puck picked up a piece of eel and put it gingerly in his mouth.

It was delicious.

His eyes opened wide at the creamy texture of the eel, which he'd expected to be rubbery, the mix of salt and the strange taste of kelp with a few other spices, and the delicious white sauce it was all floating in. He took another bite, and another, gulping down his food as fast as he possibly could.

"You know, it tastes better if you chew it," Sabrina said dryly, "I mean, then you can actually _tell_ what it tastes like."

"Shut up," Puck mumbled around a mouthful of food, "Lemme eat."

Sabrina rolled her eyes and turned away from Puck to talk to her grandmother. Puck ignored her, returning his concentration to his food. He'd never had anything that tasted like this. It was excellent! His mother liked light, fluffy, tasteless or sugary dishes that made him feel like he wasn't eating anything, and the ape servants... well, chimpanzees were good at a lot of stuff, but they weren't exactly picky about their food, and they didn't see why people would be. So since they couldn't read... chances were that a recipe would never come out the same twice, and chances were even slimmer that it would come out tasty one time, let alone both.

Jonas, on the other hand, poked at his dish, his nose wrinkling.

"You gonna eat that?" Puck said around a mouthful of food, pointing his fork at Jonas' food.

Jonas took a doubtful bite of his food, glaring at Puck, then his mouth bulged out, and he pushed his plate towards Puck, who grinned and, finished with his own food, began on the other boy's.

Jonas' stomach rumbled loud enough that Puck could hear it over the sound of his chewing. He snorted, spewing no food out of his mouth (quite an accomplishment), laughing at the kid. After all, it was his own fault for giving up his food.

Sabrina, though, slid a folded napkin around Puck onto Jonas' lap, almost well enough that he didn't notice. He probably wouldn't have noticed at all, actually, if it hadn't been for the fact that her arm came between him and his food.

He read the note- because that's what the folded napkin turned out to be, a note written in ink on the cloth (_not very nice to the servants, madame hypocritica_l, he thought)- over Jonas' shoulder. It said _Follow me after dinner, I'll show you where to get normal food._ Puck fumed. So Sabrina gave Jonas normal food? And he was her fiance! Her unwilling fiance, but still. There were things someone didn't do, and favoring some other boy over the one who was going to be your husband was one of them!

He determined, right then, to follow them after dinner. Show her! And maybe this time he'd be able to actually sneak up on her for once.

But after dinner he and Jonas (small consolation) were both bundled off by a servant to the rooms that would be his while he was in Sneak, a biggish series of chambers that still paled in comparison to his courtyard at home, although it looked a bit warmer. The place was dark blue and boring-looking, aside from the walls with their many niches and protrusions. There were no decorations on any of the walls, other than a painting of a boat, and only one wall had windows, deep-set things in the wood paneling of the stone walls, with cushioned seats in them all. He sat on one, looking out at the docks, his feet on one of his trunks. This was entirely disappointing. He'd been hoping he could have fun in Sneak. Instead it was just like Sabrina- boring and difficult.

There was a knock at his door. He got up and opened it, blinking at yet another one of those strange human servants. Why on earth would anyone want to work when they could get something else to do it for them?

"Um... your majesty?" the servant, a very large man, said, looking down at Puck in a bewildered sort of way.

"What?" Puck asked, still looking at the man. Why would someone so huge be a servant? Shouldn't he be a warrior? Sneaks were warriors as well as spies. Even people as preoccupied with work as the ones here were needed to see that this man ought to be a bodyguard.

"You're wanted in the... you know what, just... would you come with me, please? There's a meeting about how things are going to go here that the Queen Regent and Her Majesty want you at."

Puck shrugged and followed him, saying, "Sure."

He had to trot to keep up with the big man, whose steps were about twice as long as Puck's. As they wound their way through the halls of this incredibly mazelike castle, Puck realized something. "They told you that? What the meeting was about?" That seemed incredibly out of character for a secretive Sneak.

"Of course not," the man said, blinking down at Puck. "I overheard it."

"Oh," Puck said softly. Was that how everything was going to be here? Him overhearing everything if he wanted to know it? He hoped not.

By the time they'd reached their destination, though, Puck's outlook had changed, and he'd decided that he wouldn't let the weirdness of this place get him down. He would have fun, and he would drive these stupid Sneaks crazy with how awesome he was.

"We're here," the big man said, stopping outside a blank wall.

Puck looked at the man, who looked back at him, confused. "Listen, Mr... what did you say your name was?" Puck said.

"I didn't," the man said, "But it's John. Little John."

Puck snickered but didn't comment, saying instead, "Right, well, _little John_, this is a wall. And I don't know exactly how you people do stuff here, but where I'm from we can't walk through walls."

"Oh, right!" Little John said, and he tapped his toe on the floor.

The wall slid sideways, revealing a small study, full of books and lit with a fireplace in one corner. There were five cushy burgundy chairs situated around a circular table in the center of the room. Puck walked across the thick carpet patterned with vines to one of the empty chairs, and the door slid closed behind him. Sabrina, Jonas, and the old woman who was Sabrina's grandmother were all already in the room. The fifth chair was empty.

"There you are, Puck," the old lady said, smiling at him in a more friendly way than he'd been expecting. The woman didn't seem to be very much like Sabrina.

"What'd I miss?" Puck asked, leaning back in his chosen chair and plopping his feet on the table.

Sabrina glared at him, and he grinned back at her. He just wished his boots were muddy. That would really have shown her how unintimidated he was by this place.

"Nothing," Jonas said, "You didn't miss anything. We've been waiting for you." The other boy's stomach growled again and he muttered, "And I can't get food until we're done here."

"Hey, you had food," Puck pointed out. "You gave it to me."

"I don't blame him," Sabrina said. "Granny, don't you think we should have had something a bit more... normal, for their first night here?"

"What are you talking about?" the old lady asked. "We have that all the time. It's perfectly normal."

"I meant like normal for other people," Sabrina muttered, then sighed. "Never mind. Just... let's get this over with, and I'll show Jonas where to find something less... exotic to eat."

"Oh, didn't you like that, _liebling_?" the old lady asked. "I'm sorry. I'll tell the cooks not to make it again while you're here."

"Hey!" Puck complained. "I loved that!"

"Well, perhaps we can make Jonas something different on nights we have that dish," the old woman said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, great," Sabrina said, "but on to the meeting and all please?"

"Ah, yes," the old lady said with a smile. "Sorry." She gave Sabrina a stern-but-not-really look and said, "Though it would do you good to have some patience, young lady."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. Puck blinked. Dis-re-spect-ful!

The old lady chuckled- she'd caught the look, Puck noticed. Sharper than she looked- and said "Now, Sabrina, you missed your tour this year, being in Trickster and all. I didn't leave the city this summer, and I'm sure you and the kingdom both would like-"

"We're touring this winter?" Sabrina asked suddenly. "But I just got back!"

"Not for a month or so, Sabrina, relax," the old lady said with a smile. "But yes, at the beginning of March we were thinking that you would go on your tour. It's more like an early-next year tour, but-"

"Okay," Sabrina said, nodding.

"Puck will go, of course," Relda said, nodding at Puck, who accepted this information a bit more readily than he would normally, "And perhaps Jonas, if he's interested. The tour will be a bit longer than usual- maybe four months, so that Puck can see things in a bit more detail. You'll take the usual route. Puck, Jonas? Would either of you like to see a map? You don't know the route the way Sabrina does."

Puck shook his head- he didn't really care unless he could see it for real- but Jonas nodded, and Relda handed him a paper, drawing a squiggly line with her finger.

"Granny, did you want to tell me some more details about what's been going on here?" Sabrina asked.

"Yes," Relda said, and she began speaking, but Puck tuned her out. It sounded boring and political, and in this kingdom he didn't have to care about politics. He watched Sabrina's face as she listened, studying her facial expressions in the way she probably studied everyone's, looking at the color of her skin in the firelight. This all seemed incredibly fascinating to him suddenly, admiring her fine-

He shook himself and turned to Jonas' suddenly interesting map, reminding himself how annoying Sabrina was as he looked at Sneak. It wasn't a very big kingdom, really. It could fit in Trickster twenty times over, almost, that fat little crescent between cliffs and the ocean on the map before him.

After the old lady had finished speaking, Jonas piped up, saying, "I was actually hoping that I could learn some things, while I'm here. A tour would be wonderful, but I want to study, here."

"Well- I-" the old lady began, looking a bit surprised.

"I've been teaching him," Sabrina piped up. "He's quite good for someone who started this late, actually. Mostly I've taught him fighting, but a bit of disguise, too. I think he'd be a good fit."

The old lady chuckled. "It's certainly unconventional, but I'm sure the masters would be willing," she said. "And that brings me to another thing I wanted to discuss- Titania sent you with a letter?"

Sabrina nodded and pulled the letter out of the side of her dress- someday Puck would figure out how she pulled stuff out of nowhere like that- and handed it to her grandmother, saying, "It's the particulars about how many she wants sent where."

"You read it?" the old lady asked, looking at the seal. "Very neat work. I'd barely be able to tell."

Sabrina flushed with pride, then sobered and said, "Granny- listen. About the training-"

"What is it?" Relda asked, looking up from her letter.

Sabrina's face worked. Puck held in a sigh. Here it went. She was going to tell her grandmother that it was no good, they were worthless and hopeless- a completely Sneak mindset.

But she surprised him. She said, "You should send the least uptight people we have- younger ones, who like a challenge and are good at challenging other people. These people... they don't learn the way we do. They pick things up fast, but someone like Miss White isn't going to work over there. Insulting them will just make them angry. You need someone who can make the training fun."

The old lady gave Sabrina a thoughtful, gauging look. "All right, I'll take your word for it. I wasn't aware that you'd been training them."

Sabrina shrugged, looking at the table, and said, "I wasn't planning on it. But one thing led to another, and..."

The old lady smiled and said, "I'm sure you were an excellent teacher."

Sabrina flushed again, grinning.

Puck yawned loudly, interrupting that disgustingly sticky-sweet moment to say, "Great. Is that it?"

Sabrina glowered at him. He winked at her.

"I'm sorry," the old lady said, smiling at him. "I'd forgotten you must be tired after your trip. Of course you can go to bed."

"Granny, before we go- what's planned for tomorrow?" Sabrina asked, jumping up from her chair and landing soundlessly on the plush carpet.

"Some more catch-up for you on what you've missed, and a good deal of paperwork, and a tour of the castle for Puck and Jonas, so that they can learn how to navigate the place. In the evening we'll have a welcome-back ball," the old lady said with a smile at Puck. "I'll lead the tour myself, if I can. I remember when I first moved here, and I know having who understands the strangeness is a big help."

Sabrina sighed and sank down in her chair. "I was hoping I could visit the city tomorrow."

The old lady, who was also standing now, put a sympathetic hand on Sabrina's shoulder and said, "You have an obligation to your people, Sabrina. You know that. Take care of them, and then you can have fun- in fact, once you're finished with your queen duties, perhaps you can take Puck and Jonas on a tour of your city, show them all your favorite spots. Won't that be fun?" She smiled at them both.

Sabrina and Puck both groaned quietly, glaring at each other, but both recognized the tone in that voice. Puck had heard it in his mother's speech, and it meant that, though it was phrased as a suggestion, there was no getting out of this. Jonas, now also standing, though, smiled and looked excited. Puck switched his glare to the other boy.

"Goodnight, _lieblings_," the old lady said, smiling at them all as the three teenagers left the study, Sabrina in the lead because nobody else knew how to open the door.

The three chorused 'goodnight' as the door closed again.

Sabrina led Jonas- and Puck, though she didn't know he was following, he made sure of that- down another winding hall, presumably towards the kitchen.

"What does that mean?" Jonas asked, walking a little bit behind Sabrina.

"What?" Sabrina asked.

"That thing she called us," Jonas responded, "Lee-blings or something."

"_Lieblings_?" Sabrina suggested, and Puck saw Jonas nod, barely, before he ducked behind another statue in the hall- convenient, the way they had big statues all over the place. "It's her native language. It means 'sweethearts.' It's her favorite term of endearment."

"She's not from here?" Jonas asked.

Sabrina shook her head, turning casually a little too far as she did so, and making Puck duck behind another statue. "She's from the outside world, the traditional countries. My grandfather was on a mission, and he met here there. She went along on the rest of the mission with him, and had my father and my uncle while they were away. When he came back because my great-grandfather died... well, she decided she liked sneaking well enough to be the queen."

"You have an uncle?" Jonas asked. It was news to Puck, too.

"Yeah," Sabrina said, "But he's in exile. We don't talk about it."

"Oh," Jonas said quietly. Puck willed him to ask anyway, but there was silence other than the sound of footsteps. Puck pouted. Stupid Jonas and his stupid good manners.

Suddenly, Sabrina snapped, "Puck, if you wanted to see the kitchen, you could have just asked."

Puck trotted to catch up to them, disappointed but not enough that he was really angry. He was getting used to this. "How'd you know I was there?" he asked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and said, "I could hear your footsteps. You're the only one in the whole kingdom other than Jonas who would walk that loud."

By all things disgusting, she was gorgeous when she was disdainful.

Puck shook himself. Where had that come from? Yes, he'd established she was good looking back when he first met her. It was one of the few perks to the marriage. But he thought he'd gotten used to it, and the novelty should have worn off by now enough that he didn't openly admire her anymore. That was just stupid!

"We're here," Sabrina said, ducking under a particularly large tapestry of a wedding cake.

Puck and Jonas followed her into a kitchen that struck Puck as more beautiful than Sabrina- or anything he'd ever seen before. It was mostly empty of people, but the large room with several stoves, cabinets, and cupboards, was full to bursting with food. He immediately forgot that he'd eaten only a few hours ago, salivating over the edibles before him.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and pushed Puck and Jonas both forward. "Hurry up," she told them. "I want to get to bed soon, and I'll bet you whatever normal food you can find that you'd be wandering around the castle for hours if I left you here."

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><p><strong>AN~ Ah, I've missed Puck's POV. It's so much fun. He's snarkier than Sabrina, and it's a happy snark.<br>**

**Feature: "A Spy's Secret" by Gothic-Emo-Bunny  
><strong>Three chapters of fic remarkably like this- very different writing style (that could use some work in some spots), but a similar world and plot. Not identical, of course, but very alike. And I think hers is actually older, but I'm not sure and I swear I didn't read this before I wrote mine.

**Some Review Replies:**

Guest 1: **Thanks!****  
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Guest 2: **I guess you saw. :)**

Guest 3: **Was that quickly enough? Thanks, btw. :)**

LeeAndAnna:** Glad you're liking it. :) We shall see how Puck's pranks work. It shall be interesting. QotU: Can you train a Velociraptor?**


	21. It's Complicated

**AN~ **Bit short on wordcount this time around, guys. Sorry**, but that was where it had to end. Maybe I'll go back and beef it up later.  
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QotU: Invent me some Granny-foods. Or Sneak food, in this story.

**Old QotU Winner: Hanayou of the Grimms had an awesome idea to paint the scene from Book 4 where Sabrina falls off a balloon and Puck catches her on the Empire State Building. That's just awesome.  
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><p>It was a week before they could go out, actually. A long week of administrative work for Sabrina and tours of the incredibly confusing castle for Puck, and small parties for both of them.<p>

Then, finally, eight days after she'd arrived back home, Sabrina was released into her city.

She wore a plain brown dress that would fade into the background of many places, and she'd rubbed dirt into her hair and skin- many of them did that, though only a few actually wore the dirt because they couldn't access a bath regularly- and her soft leather boots padded silently down the cobbles as she left the city.

It would have been pleasantly nostalgic of every time she'd done this in her life, if it weren't for the fact that she was being tailed by Jonas and Puck.

She didn't mind Jonas, so much, as long as he remembered when to stop asking questions, which he did, usually. But Puck... it was evident in every fiber of Puck's being that he didn't want to be here, and she knew he would cause as many problems as possible.

Still. She was determined to have fun today.

No matter how much Puck groaned.

Seriously, though, he needed to stop.

"Puck!" Sabrina snapped. "I know you don't want to be here, and frankly, I wish you were somewhere else too, but would you make it easier for both of us and _try_ to enjoy yourself?"

"Fine," Puck said, and she could hear him rolling his eyes.

"I'm enjoying myself," Jonas piped up. "This is exciting! I get to see the city!"

Sabrina smiled fondly back at Jonas. He was so adorable sometimes, it was hard to remember that he was almost as old as she was, and not younger than her sister.

She led the way through the small side entrance she'd used her first day back, out instead of in this time, and now, outside the walls of the palace, the sounds of the city washed over her, and she relished them- horses, and people speaking in code and English that was code, and just plain English because they wanted to get business done as fast as possible, and seagulls, and the clatter of wagons on cobblestones, and cows and doors banging shut, and pots clanging onto stoves and 'Get your meat pies here!" and oh goodness she'd forgotten how much noise the castle walls shut out, and she'd missed this incredibly.

"Your city's louder than mine," Puck said, wrinkling his nose as Sabrina led them out of the alleyway and into the main thoroughfare to the palace.

"No, not really," Sabrina said. It wasn't, actually. "You probably just forgot how loud it is."

"I think I remember how loud my own city is, Gri-"

Sabrina whirled and slapped a hand over his mouth. "Don't go announcing who I am, please. I mean, half of people will know by the end of the day, but don't make it easier for them, all right?"

Puck blinked at her, pushing her hand off his face. "You just said please."

"Yes," Sabrina said slowly. "Yes I did. Will you do it?"

Puck shrugged. "Whatever."

Sabrina sighed. That was the best she was going to get from him, she knew.

"Come on," she said, turning back around and walking into the crowd.

The main thoroughfare was always crowded, even on hideous days, or in the middle of winter. It was where people went on their way to the palace or school, because the city's school was only a few buildings down from the castle, and it was the place tourists and foreigners went to find what they were looking for. There were several restaurants and a few major businesses- though most businesses worth their salt, ones that made things or ones that sold spies, were far less prominent than the shops here, the ones in plain sight would do for the desperate or foolish. Today appeared to be market day, and the wide street was crowded with livestock and stalls of winter vegetables.

Sabrina reached to her right and snagged a boy who had jostled Puck as he walked off. The kid struggled, but she gripped him tighter and held out her hand, palm up. The boy glared at her stubbornly.

"They may be tourists, but I'm not," Sabrina told the boy. "Give it."

The boy glared at her, still stubborn, but reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag- Puck's moneybag. He dumped it in Sabrina's outstretched hand, where it landed with a jingling noise.

Sabrina smiled at the boy and said, "Come on, I'll buy you a pasty."

The boy grumbled, but followed Sabrina without her forcing him. She grinned. She really shouldn't encourage him- there were better things for a Sneak to do than rob foreigners (much better), but she remembered her times in Artisa, and all those cruel people she'd been housed with, and she understood how he could resort to something so stupid to get food.

She dropped some of Puck's coins- he protested, but she stopped him with a glare, she'd pay him back later- into the hand of a baker, who gave her a pasty in return. She handed it to the boy and, as she did so, whispered in his ear, "Stop by the palace next time you're hungry, all right?"

The boy scrambled off without responding, and she shrugged. She'd done what she could.

Puck snatched his purse back, glaring at her.

"You're welcome," Sabrina said, rolling her eyes. "Next time I'll just let the kid keep the money."

Puck gaped at her, indignant. "You paid for his breakfast with my coins!"

Sabrina dug a few coins out of her own pocket, which was much better concealed than Puck's, and handed them to him. "Rule number one of Sneak City:" she said, "Never let a street urchin see where you keep your funds."

"What's rule number two?" Jonas asked.

"Look like you belong here," Sabrina said, smiling at him because he didn't.

"So it's all right to give street rats food, but not money?" Puck demanded. "That doesn't even make sense! Why on earth would you feed him? He'll just follow you around looking for handouts!"

"No, actually, he probably won't," Sabrina said, sighing as she started to walk down the street again, trying to just enjoy the city and not get irritated by Puck. "He'll be too proud for that. And I fed him because I understand."

Puck snorted. "How could _you_ understand?"

"For your information, buster," Sabrina said, her voice rising, "Everyone in Sneak is required to spend part of their childhoods living with a foster family in Artisa, so we can learn how to blend in with a culture and do any task. And my foster families were horrible to me. So don't ask me how I can understand being hungry, you spoiled pr-" she cut herself off before she could announce to the whole crowd, several of whom were already pretending not to listen to her, that she was traveling with royalty.

"Oh," Puck said softly. "I didn't know."

"Yeah," Sabrina said, all the tension out of her voice, replaced with defeat. "I know. It's... not something I like to talk about."

"I can see why," Puck said. He surprised her, then, by putting his hand on her shoulder. "Does your grandma know?"

She laid her own hand over his and shook her head. "Only my sister knows, because the same sort of thing happened to her. Sometimes I think maybe we're all supposed to go through that, to make us stronger. But then I think that nobody could want to do that to their children... could they?"

"Of course not," Puck said quietly. "You'd have to hate kids to torture them. And you Sneaks might have sticks up your rear ends or who knows what, but your grandma loves you, and she'd never let anyone hurt you if she could help it."

Sabrina smiled up at Puck, who was a good deal closer to her than she'd realized, and he smiled back down at her. She realized, then, that he was being sweet, and that she was happy. She was so happy, in fact, that she didn't even bother to remind herself of how much she disliked him most of the time.

"Awesome," Jonas' voice shook her out of her reverie, and Puck as well, and they jumped a little. The sounds of the city filtered back in- she hadn't even realized she'd blocked them out. She felt herself flushing as Jonas continued, "So can we see the city now? Please?"

"Yeah, certainly, of course," Sabrina said, looking very conspicuously away from Puck, "Did you want to see anything in particular?"

"Everything!" Jonas said, spreading his arms wide and almost hitting a passing farmer, who glared at him. "Sorry!"

Sabrina snickered. "Let's start with somewhere a little less crowded."

She led them off onto another side street, and through into various neighborhoods. It was more fun than she'd thought it would be, with Puck with her. She led them through the various backstreets of Sneak City, showing them the 'districts,' such as they were- the general areas where seamstresses and tailors, or smiths, or apothecaries, or code-talkers, or masters of disguise worked. The districts were loose things, blending into each other and mixing with residential areas, stacked on top of each other. She also brought them into the tunnels in the cliffs, showing off a little bit, particularly to Jonas, though both seemed impressed when she presented them with the twisting caverns that were one of her favorite parts of her dark, gloomy, vibrant city.

Even Puck seemed to be having a good time. As the day wore on, his complaints about the darkness, the high buildings and the light they blocked out, and the narrowness of the twisty alleyways that made up most of the Sneak streets died out, and by lunch time, he was completely cheerful about his squid tacos.

Sabrina, who, like Jonas, had opted for the slightly less exotic breaded whitefish and potato, sat on the wall of a fountain in the small, cheerfully lit square and smiled fondly at Puck, who was digging into his squid with an adorable gusto. She shook her head at her fiance, and then stopped, noticing someone across the square.

"Sabrina?" Jonas asked, when she didn't move for a time. "What is it?"

She scrambled to her feet, ducking behind another person in the crowd, grateful for her height, and said, "We have to go."

"What?" Puck asked, his mouth full of food as he looked up at her. "Why?"

"We have to go," Sabrina repeated, "Come on!"

Bradley was about a hundred feet away, walking closer by the minute. She didn't know why, but she was struck when she saw him by an intense need to get away, and she thought, briefly, that it was that she didn't want Bradley to meet Puck- or the other way around, for that matter.

It was too late, though. By the time she convinced Puck and Jonas to get up, and by the time they had gotten themselves standing, when she turned around, ready to dash off, she stopped abruptly. Bradley was directly in front of her, and she'd almost run into him.

"Oh..." she said softly. "Hello."

"Hi," Bradley said, looking and sounding stunned.

"Who's this?" Jonas asked. "Is he why you wanted to leave?"

Sabrina was filled with the desire to strangle Jonas, but she squashed it. She couldn't squish her blush, though, and she broke eye contact with Bradley- easy enough, since he was easily as tall as Puck- taller than when she'd last seen him.

Puck did it for her, though, smacking Jonas lightly upside the head and saying, "Nice one, doofus. Even I know that was a stupid thing to say."

"I'd heard you were back," Bradley said softly. "I didn't think I'd see you."

"No," Sabrina agreed, "No, I wasn't planning on it. It... didn't seem wise."

"I understand," Bradley said.

Remembering her manners, Sabrina said, "Bradley, this is Jonas. He's from Trickster, but he thinks he might want to learn to be a Sneak. And... this is His Majesty Puck. My..."

"Fiance," Bradley finished for her, when it became evident that she couldn't.

Sabrina nodded. "Jonas, Puck, this is Bradley, a friend from school."

The looks Bradley and Puck gave her, then each other, made it clear that nobody other than Jonas thought she'd done an adequate job at introductions, or told the whole story. Bradley shook Puck's hand, and Sabrina could see the tension in the two boys as they squeezed each other. She winced. She hadn't wanted this meeting, and she felt torn in two separate directions. Her heart didn't flutter when she saw Bradley anymore, this had proved it, but she was still fond of him, and... she was fond of Puck, too, she realized. He might drive her insane, but she wanted the two to like each other.

When the two finally released each other and Bradley moved on to shake Jonas' hand, the younger boy let loose a barrage of questions, and Puck sidled over to Sabrina.

"What's really between you two?" Puck asked.

"Nothing!" Sabrina protested, her voice too loud, too shrill, to desperate.

Puck gave her a look. "Grimm. I don't study people like you do, but even I know you two have more history than school friends."

"We were... almost something," Sabrina said softly, giving in. "But then your mother, and my grandmother, and then you happened, and we ended it before it began. I'm over him, now. As much as you can ever get over anyone."

Puck looked her up and down and grinned at her. "Now see, isn't it better to tell the truth?"

Sabrina stared at him, exasperated. He was just impossible to predict. But then again, why had she expected him to get upset? It wasn't as if either of them were really in love with each other.

"Bradley, buddy!" Puck said, leaving Sabrina to go back to her... former crush. "Listen, Sabrina was taking me and Jonas on a tour today. You wanna come with?"

What in the name of all things holy was he _doing_?

"Oh, yes, please!" Jonas piped up. "It'll be fascinating to have another Sneak along, one who isn't royalty. It'll give us another point of view!"

Bradley looked at Sabrina, defeated. She looked back at him and shrugged. He sighed, then nodded.

"Great!" Puck said, "Now that that's settled, I'm gonna go finish my lunch."

The rest of the day was incredibly awkward, though Sabrina found that sometimes, she could almost forget how tense things were and just enjoy time with three people she cared about. They left Bradley when the sky got dark and even the cracks of sunlight that made their way between the tall, crowded stacks of buildings disappeared, three stories below his house in the purple shadows, and then they made their way back to the palace. Jonas was still prattling about how amazing the day had been, and how much he'd loved it, how wonderful he found Sneak. Sabrina smiled a little bit behind him, and cast a glance back at Bradley, climbing up to his house from the street. She felt half mournful, half nostalgic, watching him, and one hundred per cent confused.

When they neared the palace, Puck pulled Sabrina aside, back a little bit behind Jonas, who kept walking, not noticing anything.

"What is it?" she asked, suspicious. He'd done this before and dumped spiders down her dress.

"Nothing bad, I promise," Puck said, and he wasn't smiling at all- a rarity so large she believed him.

"All right, what, then?" she repeated.

"It's just, I was thinking," Puck began.

Sabrina tapped her foot a bit, difficult to do while walking, and said, "Spit it out, would you?"

"All right," Puck said, then took a deep breath, "I was thinking... what if we call it off?"

"Call what off?" Sabrina asked, though she had a suspicion what he was talking about.

"This," Puck said, "Us. Our marriage."

"We can't do that," Sabrina said softly. Her heart was fluttering, feeling higher in her chest than usual. She wasn't sure why- excitement or worry? "We need this alliance. Daphne's peace talks aren't going well enough that we'll be safe. And the alliance can't exist without our marriage."

"Yeah, I thought of that," Puck said, "But we won't be getting married for nearly three years. Who's to say what will happen in that long? All we need to do is win the war in less than three years, and we can break the engagement without hurting anyone."

"Oh," Sabrina said softly. He really had thought about it.

"See," Puck continued, "This way I don't have to get married- I kind of never want to get married it seems kind of stupid- and you can get back together with your Bradley boy. And nobody can complain because they don't need us to be married to be safe anymore."

"Yeah," Sabrina agreed. She was partly touched by his care in suggesting that she could marry someone she was fond of, and partly... saddened? No, she couldn't be sad. That was simply ridiculous. She'd never wanted to marry Puck. And if she spent more time with Bradley, her feelings would probably reignite. It was an excellent plan.

"So all we need to do is win the war in the next three years," Puck said, grinning at her. "All right?"

Sabrina nodded, forcing a smile onto her face. "All right," she agreed. After all, she didn't fancy _Puck_, so there was no reason to be sad, especially when he seemed so happy to actually do something kind for once.

Puck grinned at her. "Great," he said, "Let's win that war."

She nodded and echoed, "Let's."

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ Aww, they kind of like each other now. It's so cute.<br>**

**Feature: Petals in the Ashes 2 by hvg2001  
><strong>A well-developed world, set in 1866- and other than some incredibly stilted dialogue, well grounded in its world. That's the strongest part of this story. I could see them in 1866 doing time-period things in the right way. It was very well-done, though it could use a proofread.

**Some Review Replies:**

Guest: **Good. :) I needed a character to be this kid, and I didn't want him to be an OC, so he became Jonas. Not TOTALLY an OC.**

Isabella314: **I'm not sure you're right about the boys usually falling for girls faster thing (I've fallen for a guy over the course of a weekend), but Puck's definitely falling for Sabrina faster than she is for him. I might maybe have Puck see Sabrina almost die but... Well...**

Nello Orella:** QotD: DUDE. Just... DUDE. Chapter: We'll see. ;)**


	22. Not-So-Secret

**AN~ You guys didn't seriously think I was going to break them up, did you? That's just ridiculous. But you know that if they got married and it was arranged neither would be happy. This way when they find out they'll know they WANT each other.  
><strong>

QotU: Favorite fairy tale and why? (Sorry guys, running out of steam today.)

**Old QotU Winner: xXOnceUponADreamXx because it fit the seafood theme Sneak's got going. Nello Orella was a close second, though.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Back in his bedroom in the castle, Puck lay face down on the bed, arms stretched out towards his feet, which were hanging off the edge of the bed, as if he had simply fallen there and refused to move.<p>

He had, in fact. He was in the process of berating himself for what he'd said to Sabrina. How could he have been so _stupid_? Telling her they could end things after the war? And why? His pride? To be nice to her? What had he been thinking? Now she'd go after things in her Sabrina way, and the war would be over in less than three years, and he'd be left with no Sabrina.

She'd be happy, at least. There was always that.

He moaned into the bed. He wanted her to be happy with _him_!

There was a knock on the door.

"Go away," Puck mumbled into his blankets.

Apparently whoever it was couldn't hear him, because the knocking continued.

He considered turning his head to yell at the whoever-it-was, but decided against it. That would require moving, and he was too depressed to move.

"Puck?" Jonas' voice came with the end of the knocking, just when Puck had hoped whoever it was had given up and left. "You all right?"

"Go away," Puck said, still not moving.

"That's a no," then," Jonas said, and Puck felt the mattress joggle.

Jonas was sitting on his bed. That was almost infuriating enough to make Puck move, just to shove him or dump something hideous on his head. How had the kid gotten around his traps, anyway? He thought he'd put a tripwire between his door and his bed.

"You want to talk about it?" Jonas asked.

"No," Puck muttered forcefully, his face still buried in his blankets. Maybe if he just stayed here forever, Sabrina would feel sorry for him and fall in love with him.

"For the record, I think it was really nice of you," Jonas said after a minute. "Offering to let her marry him if this ends soon enough, I mean."

"You heard that?" Puck groaned. Wonderful. Just when he thought things couldn't get worse.

"Yeah," Jonas said. "You think just 'cause I get excited by everything I'm not paying attention? I want to be a Sneak, Puck. I'm working hard at it."

And just when Puck had been thinking here was someone he was better than, at last, the kid had to go prove him wrong. Perfect. Today was officially the worst day of his life. Maybe he could do something awful to Bradley, make him run off and never come back. That might work.

No. No it wouldn't.

"Why do you think I was being nice?" Puck snapped, turning his head at last to glare up at Jonas. "You think I wanted to marry her in the first place?"

"Um, yeah, actually," Jonas said.

"Well, I didn't!" Puck snapped. "She's-"

"Excellent," Jonas supplied.

"No!" Puck snapped. "Infuriating! And annoying and stuck up and-"

Jonas just looked at him.

"And amazing," Puck finished, giving up. He turned his face back into the bed, looking away from Jonas.

"Exactly," Jonas said, sounding satisfied.

"I hate you," Puck muttered.

"No you don't," Jonas said.

"Yes I do," Puck said.

Jonas was silent, but he didn't leave.

"This stinks," Puck said eventually. "I hate it."

"I know," Jonas said softly.

Puck looked at Jonas suspiciously. "You're sweet on her too, are you?"

Jonas shook his head vehemently and said, "No, nononononono."

"Good," Puck said.

Jonas nodded. "Two people fancying her is more than enough."

"More than she deserves," Puck muttered.

"Puck!" Jonas snapped.

"What?" Puck asked, rolling over to stare at the ceiling.

Jonas shook his head and sighed, saying, "I give up."

"What did I do?" Puck asked.

"You're an idiot, that's what you did," Jonas said. "And it's no wonder you aren't having any luck with Sabrina."

"I don't understand!" Puck snapped.

"I know," Jonas said, "But if you want her to fancy you, you could try _not_ insulting her."

Puck snorted. "You're funny."

Jonas sighed again.

"I've tried!" Puck protested, earnest now. "I just can't help it!"

"Well, I don't know how to help you, then," Jonas said with a shrug.

"I never asked for your help," Puck muttered. "I don't even like you, really."

"I know," Jonas said, "But I like you."

"Why?" Puck asked.

"I don't know," Jonas said, "You're funny, I guess. And clever."

Puck snorted. "Go away, Jonas. Let me wallow in peace."

"All right," Jonas said, standing. "But if you ever want somebody to talk to... I can be your friend, Puck."

He closed the door behind him. Puck waited a moment, then moaned and rolled back onto his stomach.

* * *

><p>They received letters from Titania within the month that the Sneak teachers had arrived and were being sent out to begin training the Tricksters. The one that remained in the city was a cheerful sort named Will Scarlet, and he seemed to be working wonders with the city residents. Sabrina's recommendation had been excellent, though Titania thought that maybe these people all took the oncoming war a bit too lightly.<p>

In Sneak, the two Tricksters had been enrolled in classes for the two weeks they would still be in Sneak City before the tour- Jonas had decided to take the opportunity to see the whole of the country. Preparations were going smoothly for the tour, and Sabrina was looking forward to seeing her country again.

She was helping Jonas catch up to the people his age in Sneak- he was currently in classes with the adults who had come to Sneak specifically to learn one thing, but he was hoping that eventually he would be allowed into the Sneak-born children's classes. Occasionally, Puck joined them in these tutoring sessions.

* * *

><p>Finally, the day of leaving came, and Sabrina, on her own, far more placid horse, rode out of the city at dawn, with a very tired Puck and equally bleary-eyed Jonas. They were heading for the rendezvous point that the progress had chosen, from which the party would actually leave. For most of the journey, they would be traveling in small groups, which would shift members at points in time. Very rarely would everyone travel together, but this morning was one of the few times.<p>

"Why are we leaving this early?" Puck mumbled, holding a mug of some sort of odd tea that Sabrina had allowed him to stop and buy.

"So we can keep from being left behind," Jonas supplied.

Jonas and Puck seemed to be getting along better now than they had been earlier. Sabrina didn't know what had happened, but she was glad for it. Now if only Puck would pay attention to her a bit more... But that was ridiculous.

"Yeah, but why's the whole thing leaving so early?" Puck persisted.

"So less people notice us leaving, I guess," Jonas said with a shrug.

"Yeah, except, aren't people more likely to pay attention to a couple people riding their horses in the early morning than in the middle of the day?" Puck pointed out.

"Good point," Jonas said, "Sabrina?"

"We're leaving early so we miss the crowds," Sabrina said, "Also because we'd like to be where we're heading before dark."

"That's a stupid reason," Puck muttered. "What's the point of getting there before dark if we have to leave in the dark?"

"It's not dark out," Sabrina said, "The sky is blue."

"Then why is it so dark here?" Puck grumped.

"This place is always dark," Jonas said, "It adds to the sneakiness."

Puck snorted. "Just like Sneaks to make their city stupidly twisty for the atmosphere."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Says the boy who comes from a kingdom where roofs can fall on your head just because you think it's funny."

"It is funny!" Puck insisted. "And it's not like anybody dies or anything!"

"Oh, no, they just get concussions!" Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Not always," Puck said.

"Can you stop for a bit?" Jonas asked. "It's too early for your bickering."

Sabrina and Puck fell silent, and stayed quiet until they'd reached the traveling group. Even then, Sabrina just sat on her horse while those around her talked. She decided to just enjoy the day, the coming of Spring, and the freedom of being outside. Much as she loved Sneak City, it was nice to be outside, riding along the cliffs, looking at the beginnings of green returning to the world, listening to the birds- there were no songbirds in the city.

She hoped Puck and Jonas wouldn't get too overwhelmed by the rest of the country- it wasn't _that_ different from the city, but there were regional changes, and they could throw the boys off if they didn't watch out.

She also hoped that nothing big had happened. It had been nearly two years since she'd traveled through Sneak, and problems tended to arise when some of the more outlying Sneaks were left to their own devices for too long. A lot could change in the time she'd been absent. She wasn't even sure she'd see any friendly faces out here, even though things had been good when she'd left them last.

"What are you thinking about?" Puck asked, riding up to her. He looked far more awake now, and he was playing with his cummerbund again.

"It's hard, ruling a country," she said. "I don't know how you do it- yours has got to be ten times the size of mine."

Puck grinned at her and said, "My people are a lot more laid back than yours, for one thing. And I have my mother and Mustardseed. You're trying to do the whole thing on your own."

"Not all on my own!" Sabrina protested. "I have my grandmother, and the Wolf, and Ms. White-"

"And you're just letting them teach you what to do so you can do it on your own, am I right?" Puck asked.

"Maybe," Sabrina muttered, looking at the side of the saddle that was furthest from him.

"That's what's wrong with you, Grimm," Puck said, leaning back in his own saddle. "You don't let other people do stuff for you enough. You'll drive yourself crazy that way."

"Well, at least I do stuff for myself," Sabrina said.

"I do things for myself!" Puck snapped, sitting up straight again.

"How long did it take you to bother to find out what it took to rule your own kingdom?" Sabrina snapped. "Mustardseed told me you only did it because your mother needed proof that if she let you it wouldn't fall to pieces, and that happened last spring!"

"I-" Puck's face worked, and he shut his mouth, glaring away from her.

"I might take on too much, Puck, but at least I have a work ethic," Sabrina said softly.

"Whatever," Puck said, still not looking at her.

Sabrina allowed the thought that slipped into her mind- that she and Puck would have balanced each other out quite well, if they were to stay together- to linger briefly, but when she felt herself starting to get depressed, she chased it away, reminding herself of just how irritating this boy was, and how many things about him there were for her to dislike. It only worked partially.

"So where are we going?" Puck asked, after he'd decided he was done giving her the silent treatment- about ten minutes.

"Granny told you," Sabrina pointed out. "She told all of us. Several times."

"And I didn't pay attention to any of them," Puck responded, "So where are we going?"

Sabrina grinned at him, and, feeling brazen, winked. "You'll see," she said, "it's wonderful."

* * *

><p>Sabrina had a rather twisted definition of wonderful, Puck decided that evening.<p>

Their first destination was a city that, like the capital, had been built into the hundreds of yards of cliffs that protected Sneak from the outside world. Unlike the capital, though, there was no outside to this place. The entrance was almost impossible to find, and once inside, the only light was from torches, fires, and tiny cracks in the cliff on one wall. The air was smoky and dense.

"What was the point of getting here before dark if we were just going to be shoved right into it as soon as we reached the place?" Puck muttered, holding his horse's reins in one hand and a torch in the other, following someone in the direction he hoped would lead to some sort of stable.

"So we could find the way in," someone behind him- not Sabrina, but he didn't know who- said, chuckling.

Puck fumed. Jokes were great, and making fun of people was, too, but making fun of him was not okay. Especially when he'd never been to the stupid place before, knew nothing about it, and just wanted to be back outside!

"Relax," Sabrina whispered near his ear, and he jumped- where had she come from? And where was her horse?

"Don't do that!" he snapped at her.

"Sorry," she said.

He glared in her general direction, which was somewhat to his right, off in the shadows.

After a while, she said, "I didn't know you were claustrophobic."

"I'm not!" Puck snapped. "... What's claustrophobic?"

"Afraid of tight spaces," Sabrina explained, and he was surprised that she didn't even pause at his denial and switch, "Or locked doors, depending. You don't like feeling trapped."

"I'm..." he sighed, "Not... terrified. But this isn't okay."

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't know."

"I'm a person with wings whose bedroom is outside!" Puck snapped. "What did you figure?"

"Calm down!" Sabrina snapped. "Just 'cause you're nervous doesn't mean you can get angry at everyone for everything!"

Wonderful. Now he'd just done the sort of thing that had gotten him into this situation in the first place. He didn't try to make her mad at him- it just sort of happened, and then he found himself further from her than he'd started out.

"It's not your fault," he amended, hoping he could fix things, at least a little. "What could you have done? Told the Old Lady you didn't want to come here? That wouldn't have gone over well at all."

"I know," she said softly.

He was surprised and pleased to hear that she wasn't as angry- who knew Jonas was right about that being nice thing?

"Well, on the bright side, we'll only be here for a day or two," Sabrina said after a bit.

Puck didn't think he could take two days in this place. He hoped that whatever had to be done here only took tonight, because he had no intention of going mad, and he might if they kept him here too long.

They'd reached the stable-thing, and Puck gave his horse to a waiting servant- he was almost used to these human servants now- and followed Sabrina, who was walking without a torch, down another tight, dark corridor.

"What is this place, anyway?" Puck asked. "Who decides to build a town in a mountain?"

"It's... well, part of it is because we're a small country and we ran out of other places to build towns," Sabrina said.

"What's the other part?" he asked.

"It's where people come who aren't safe outside," Sabrina said, "Visitors from other countries who need somewhere to hide, Sneaks who've upset someone else and don't want to spend all their time looking over their shoulder, or who just want to sleep... this is where they go. It's the safest place in Sneak."

"Oh," Puck said, "And why are we here? It doesn't seem too smart to show people from other countries your hideaway hole."

"We're bringing supplies, and boosting morale, and letting you see it," Sabrina said, "Since my grandmother doesn't know we're not planning on actually getting married, and since there's a chance this'll go on for more than three years."

Oh, if only.

They entered a larger cave sort of thing, and several people stood up and started asking questions. Sabrina and several of the adults answered them, and Puck and Jonas sidled closer to one of the fires and the food cooking in them.

This place was creepy, there was no doubt about that. The rock and soil of the walls was uneven, jagged and dark, and the light of the fire threw wobbly shadows on the walls.

The food- roast bird of some kind- made him feel better. It was one of the few non-seafood things he'd eaten since leaving Trickster, and it wasn't as exciting as Sneak food normally was, but at least it was thick and heavy and filling, unlike the things his mother liked.

Sabrina joined him for dinner, and he noticed that this was one of the few times she'd really seemed enthusiastic about the food she was eating in he didn't know how long. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her enjoy food.

"This is another reason I like to come here," she confessed. "They really know how to cook."

"It's good," Puck agreed, "but not excellent. That stuff back at your palace, now- that was amazing."

Sabrina and Jonas, who was also at their fire, both made faces.

A thin, pale-looking old woman slapped a filthy hand on an equally filthy knee and said, "I remember when I hated that food too, youngsters. Be grateful you've got variety."

"Who are you?" Puck asked. "And why're you stuck here?"

"Call me Baba Yaga," the old lady cackled. "It means grandma witch, and that's what I am. I'm part of the reason Magica hates Sneak so much, so when things changed I skedaddled. If I left this place they'd probably kill me." She smiled and said, "It's all right, though. I like watching these people. They're so melodramatic. It's hilarious."

"So why _does_ Magica hate Sneak?" Jonas asked. "What did you have to do with it?"

"Oh, it's been a long time since anyone cared about that," the Baba Yaga said, settling down with a yellow-brown smile. "But you're different, youngster, aren't you? Full of questions."

Jonas grinned, ducking his head.

"See, kiddies, what happened is that ages ago Magica tried to do what the leaders want to do now- take over the world," the Baba Yaga began, "and Sneak saw it coming- because Sneaks always see things coming, so one of them talked to me, and we set up a spell- one that keeps anyone who calls themselves a Magician right in their kingdom. They've spent the past two centuries trying to move that barrier, but it took them 'til now to figure out how to turn the spell to their advantage. And now they're out for blood, because they're all sure it's the Sneak's fault."

"Well- then why do they hate Trickster?" Jonas asked.

Sabrina, on the other hand, had latched on to something different: "How old _are_ you?" she accused.

The woman cackled again, and said, "Older than you can imagine. I've discovered the secret to eternal life. Youth, though- eternal youth is a secret I missed out on." She turned her attention back to Jonas and said, "Because you Tricksters are as much magic as they are, and you didn't come help them. They'll never forgive your kingdom for that."

"That's ridiculous," Puck muttered. "It was ages ago. Shouldn't they have forgotten?"

Baba Yaga shrugged and said, "Tell that to them."

Sabrina shrugged. "Well, explanations are great and all, but it doesn't tell us what they're up to, or whether or not my sister is safe, so I'm going to bed."

As Sabrina walked off, and Puck and Jonas got up to follow her, the old woman called after them, "Oh, your sister's not safe, darling. Not safe at all."

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ Well, I cut you guys a bit short, but I hope you don't mind because that was the END, you know? Just, like, perfect, right there, THE END. Also it's getting late.<br>**

**Feature: 'The Clichéd Tales of Romeo and Juliet' by Laylaenchantix101  
><strong>Action-packed and pretty well-written, with only minor errors, this is a story that looks to be exciting from one of the contenders for The Best Sisters Grimm Story of 2012, and I think it's better than her first one. The only problem I had other than two misspellings in the second chapter was that the world is very vague.

**Some Review Replies:**

BirdIsTheWord53: **Thanks so much! Did I keep you waiting too long?**

Isabella314: **Glad you liked it so much! Thanks! :D**

Kim: **I updated. I'm glad you like those things about it, I try hard. Also you'd be surprised how many people your age want the hormone stuff.**

LeeAndAnna: **That was totally on purpose, the food thing. I'm glad they all feel in character, sometimes it gets hard with an AU. Jonas is one of my favorite minor characters in this story. Don't worry, one of them will tell the other 'by the way I kind of actually want to get married and all that.' QotU: I guess we'll never know. And... That's great for Granny, but not so much for Sneak, because they haven't invented the freezer yet.**

Nello Orella: **QotD: That's a GOOD one. I don't want Bradley and Sabrina to get together, and it's hard to make him a full-fledged character when he's kind of reserved and only shows up twice, but I feel bad for the guy. Which bit of Puck was weird? The niceness? He'll be back to normal next chapter. I think he's just figured out that he actually LIKES Sabrina, and he's like, 'but we can get married! ...except she doesn't want to...' Yes, actually, as you will have seen, touring Sneak began here. I'm not too big on another near-death experience.**


	23. Welcome Back!

**AN~ A lot of you have been asking about Daphne. I think the next chapter might be about her, how's that?  
><strong>

QotU: SPRING IS COMING! What are you going to do outside first, now that it's going to be warmish soon?

**Old QotU Winner: LeeAndAnna because she actually picked a fairytale that she liked, not one she enjoyed making fun of (though that was fun to read about).  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Puck was amazed at how much these Sneaks could shove into such a tiny country. The monthlong tour was almost over, and they'd visited three major cities, five lordships or fiefs or something (the rulers weren't all lords, so he supposed they weren't exactly lordships, just something like his stewards), two major ports, and more small towns than he could count. Everyone seemed to work incredibly hard in all these places, making things as well as doing Sneaky sorts of things like working with weapons and hiding in plain sight. They even visited the Academy, the place where Sneaks in the upper level went to finish their training- he didn't really understand these levels, but Jonas loved the place.<p>

He was also amazed at how they managed to cover the whole area in a month without missing anything, and how much _culture _there was, how much Sabrina explained. This area was mostly for those who wanted to learn to kill, that area was for people who wrote in code, another place was for people who specialized in disguise- he'd thought Sneaking was much simpler than that.

And all these people helped to choose their government or something ridiculous like that! He'd thought that Sabrina was just a strange queen who liked to get in touch with her subjects or something like that, but no, it turned out that if she didn't make sure they were content, they could all vote to have her deposed and replaced with someone else that they liked better! Same with her council of advisers, if the people didn't think they were doing a good job, they could have them removed! It was so odd, this legal rebellion.

Sabrina said it was to keep the people in power from becoming dictators, and it was leftover from the days when this place was supposed to be a school, not a country. He supposed he understood that, but it still struck him as odd.

Some of the Sneaks, the nicer-seeming ones, who weren't as stuck up or hateful of tricks, had shown him ways to be quieter, ways to make his tricks better, to hide them. He still couldn't sneak up on Sabrina, but she fell for his pranks more often, now. She's been getting good enough that she only got stuck by one in ten or so, but now it was back to about even- there was a fifty-fifty chance he'd fool her. He liked it better that way. And these people were all so _fun_ to prank!

They were almost back in Sneak City, now, and Puck was looking forward to a rest. Sabrina had also been working him and Jonas to the bone whenever they stopped for long enough, and he was tired of it. Maybe he could convince her to have some fun once they were back in the city. Somehow he doubted it, but at least here she'd be busy doing queen stuff- different queen stuff- and he'd get a rest.

Sneak City was still a dark, bustling shadow in an otherwise nice-looking, springtime green bit of countryside bordering on an equally cheerful ocean, and Puck wondered again how Sabrina could love this place so much. It was so _cramped_.

"It's good to be home," she said, breathing in deeply with a smile. She was riding next to him, at the front of the caravan.

He rolled his eyes, and, changing the subject, asked, "Hey, I was wondering- how come you don't train your people to fit in with Trickster? What if you have to spy there?"

"We don't normally spy on our allies..." Sabrina said, "much."

"Except we weren't allies," Puck pointed out. "We were nearly enemies up 'til last year."

Sabrina shook her head.

"Oh, come on, now I have to know," Puck said.

Not looking at him, Sabrina said, "It's just... well."

"What?" Puck asked.

"You won't like it," Sabrina warned.

"Grimm, I don't like your country any more than you like mine, anything you tell me will just be one more thing to add to the list," Puck pointed out.

Sabrina shrugged and said, "Well... we never really thought you were worth watching, really. We just kind of figured you weren't up to much. Like an annoying little brother... nothing to worry about."

She was right. He didn't like it. In fact, he was pretty darn offended. So what if it was mostly right, and they weren't ever up to much? That didn't mean they weren't anything to worry about!

"I told you you wouldn't like it," she told him.

Oh, and she was reading his expressions, too! That was unacceptable!

"Shut it," he told her.

She didn't say anything else, but then, she didn't really have to- her expression said it all for her.

"I hate you," he muttered, kicking his horse into a run to get away from her.

He wasn't fast enough to escape her call of "I know!" though.

As his horse moved faster, he forgot his annoyance in the speed of the movement, and he whooped, pushing the horse even faster, almost running several people on the road over, grinning at anyone he made eye contact with as they cursed him.

The horse knew the way back to the palace, thankfully, and he arrived in one piece, well before the others. The doorman, shaking his head at Puck, opened the gate and let him through.

He dismounted and handed his horse to a stable boy that had come out of nowhere- how did they move so fast?- and headed for the door. He wasn't going to wait for everyone else to get back.

"Oh, _liebling_, you're back!" the Old Lady's voice came from off to his right, and he turned towards her- she didn't sound too happy to see him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice guarded.

The Old Lady gave him a hug, then pulled back and said, "I'll tell you later, once Sabrina's back. In private."

"Oh," he said, blinking at her. "Okay."

She gave him a small smile and said, "I've missed you, Puck. You really liven this castle up. Make me feel ten years younger!"

Puck grinned at the Old Lady. So there, Sabrina! He ignored the fact that the Old Lady was probably the only one who thought that at all.

Right after the Old Lady let Puck go, the gate opened again, and the rest of the group came clattering into the courtyard. Everyone who had been there already, going about their business, scattered to do other business, or just get out of the way of horse's hooves, or maybe help unpack.

Sabrina was there, suddenly, saying, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Puck stared at her. How did she know? What had she seen that told her something was wrong? Everything looked normal to him- normal for Sneak, that is.

"Not now, _liebling_," the Old Lady said softly. "Meet me in the tower when you're recovered from your trip- Puck, I suppose you ought to come, too; this concerns you, as well."

"Oh," Sabrina said softly, and the expression on her face worried Puck a bit. He couldn't put a name to it, but it wasn't good.

As the Old Lady walked off, he turned to Sabrina and asked, "You okay?"

She shook her head and said, "Go unpack, Puck," her voice bleary and tired. "I can't deal with your tricks right now."

"It's not a trick," Jonas said softly, coming up from behind them. "He's actually concerned. And so am I."

Sabrina shook her head again. "Just... be in the tallest tower at midnight."

"Midnight?" Jonas asked. "How do you know that's when she wants us there? How do you know she wants me there at all?"

"_I_ want you there," Sabrina said, "And 'when you're recovered' is code for midnight." She turned and began walking away. "I'll see you there."

Puck and Jonas looked at each other, Jonas' eyes full of worry for their friend (_friend_? Puck wondered, _when did that happen?_), Puck's confused. He did not understand these people.

"I hope it's not too bad," Jonas said softly, heading for the palace doors himself. "But I suppose it is. They wouldn't be making such a big deal if it wasn't bad news."

"How do you know?" Puck asked. "Other than the Old Lady and Sabrina, everybody seemed completely normal to me."

Jonas shook his head. "I can't explain it to you. You have to see it."

"Oh, you're a big help," Puck muttered. "Thanks bunches."

"I'm sorry, Puck," Jonas said, "but I just can't... it's not something you can explain. You just have to know."

"Whatever," Puck said, rolling his eyes. Everything could be explained. You just had to care enough.

"Listen, I'm going to go get something to eat," Jonas said. "You need anything?"

Puck would have loved some food, but he refused to accept help from someone who couldn't even explain how he knew something was wrong. "No," he grunted.

"Suit yourself," Jonas said with a shrug. "See you tonight, then."

Puck prepared to storm off, but as Jonas said 'see you tonight,' he realized something and turned back, retaining as much of his dignity as he could as he did what he'd just told himself he wouldn't do- asked Jonas for help. "Where... how do I get to this tower?" he asked Jonas.

Jonas grinned at him, and Puck stiffened, because they both knew Jonas was laughing at him on the inside as he said, "Meet me at my rooms, I'll show you."

Puck nodded, sacrificing a bit of his dignity in favor of curiosity as Jonas walked off.

Giving it up didn't come easy, though, and as he walked off towards his own room, he decided to take out his frustrations with a good prank- he had one in mind already, and he knew just where to put it. He'd set it up, and then he'd go to the kitchens himself. Hopefully Jonas would be done there by then.

His mind full of plans, Puck stalked off to wait for midnight.

* * *

><p>Nighttime in Sneak Castle was alive with the energy of people who took the opportunity to find other's secrets. Very few people actually slept the night through, and though they didn't see each other if they were doing their jobs right, everyone knew there were always at least twenty other people moving around in the building.<p>

Puck didn't even bother trying to hide. Sometimes he did, but he'd decided that since these other people would find him anyway, and since apparently they were already all tense, he might as well just get to Jonas' rooms as fast as he could so that they could make it to this tower.

He knocked on Jonas' door, but before his hand could hit the door, it opened, and Jonas said, "Finally. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten."

Wonderful. Now Jonas could do the open-the-door-before-you-say-you're-there thing, too.

"Let's just get going," he said.

Jonas nodded and jumped off, his steps not silent, but a good deal less loud than Puck's, his dark gray clothes blending with the background. Puck could only see his hands clearly.

Puck scrambled to keep up without losing his younger guide, cursing the fact that they'd even brought this kid to Sneak in the first place. He was some sort of weird anomaly- way to happy for a Sneak, way too serious for a Trickster.

The idea that, if Puck and Sabrina were to have children, they'd likely be a lot like this boy slipped its way into his thoughts before he could shove it out again.

Jonas led Puck through hallway after twisted hall, working their way up through the castle slowly, until they reached a doorway that opened onto a spiral staircase. Jonas bounded up, still full of energy. Puck waited as Jonas worked his way up, debating, then decided it was worth it. He unfurled his wings and flew up the stairway. Much less energy that way.

He landed and tucked his wings back away when he felt like he'd reached the top of the staircase- the light had changed, he noticed, and wondered if this was how Sneaks felt all the time- and walked the last bit. Jonas didn't know he could fly, and Puck planned to keep it that way.

Jonas was sitting against the wall, panting. When he saw Puck, his eyes opened wide and said, "How are you not exhausted?"

Puck puffed out his chest and grinned at Jonas, saying, "Because I'm amazing."

Jonas grinned at Puck, then nodded at a ladder off to the side of the room and said, "They'll be up there."

Puck headed up the ladder first, partly because Jonas was still tired, and partly because he didn't want to give the other boy the satisfaction of seeing how awed Puck was that anybody could remember the way around this crazy castle.

The room at the top of the ladder was smallish, with a patterned floor and a table with a few chairs inside. Puck couldn't many of the details about these things, though, because there were no lights in the room at all- not a torch, not a fire, not a candle. At first he thought that somebody must have opened all the windows for some crazy Sneak reason, but then he realized that wasn't it, there was simply no glass in the bottom half of any of the windows. The tops halves of the windows were stained glass that didn't do anything to cut the wind that blew from mid-hip to above his head, blowing his clothes and hair in all directions. If he'd been anyone else, he'd be freezing now, and as it was, he was still a bit chilly.

Sabrina and the Old Lady were sitting at the table, looking very serious, and they motioned for him to sit down. As he did, Jonas's head crested the top of the ladder.

"Check the windows, would you, Jonas?" the Old Lady asked, standing and pulling the ladder up behind him. "I don't want anyone overhearing- enough people know already."

Jonas nodded and looked out all the windows in turn, peering both up and down, his head hanging into space. Puck sort of thought that any Sneaks paying attention would notice a random head sticking out a window of this tower as much as they would a light in the windows, but he decided it was best not to say anything. Besides, Jonas was already sitting down.

"All right, Granny," Sabrina said, once Jonas had stopped moving. "What is it?"

The Old Lady took a deep breath and said, "Well, Sabrina... Daphne... she's been arrested."

"_What_?" Sabrina gasped. "Why? What did she do? When? Are we going to get her out?"

"Jeesh, let her answer one, why don't ya?" Puck said, irritated. He'd never met Daphne, though he'd gotten an impression of her from Sabrina, and knew how much the two girls loved each other. He was still curious, though- and he knew that this meant war. Real war, not just Sneaks training Tricksters and tense leaders in both kingdoms- real, full-on battles and attacks. So Sabrina needed to be quiet and do that Sneak thing she did best- assess the situation.

"Oh, would you be _quiet_, Puck!" Sabrina snapped, rounding on him.

Puck was going to shoot back something clever- he was proud of his comment, too, but he saw the way her eyes shone in the moonlight, and the expression on her face- a twisted, fierce mess- and he bit back what he was going to say.

"_Liebling_," the Old Lady chastised. "I understand that you're upset, but shouting at Puck won't help matters."

Sabrina gave a large sniff and turned that horrible not-exactly-a-glare on her grandmother without saying a word.

"Daphne's an ambassador to Magica right now, yes?" Jonas asked quietly, glancing at Sabrina out of the corners of his eyes.

The Old Lady nodded. "And, unfortunately, she was caught doing magic- she wasn't allowed to be doing magic."

Sabrina hissed and whispered, "She promised me she wouldn't. She wrote me- said she knew it was a state secret and she'd get in so much trouble if the caught her learning."

"Well, I'm sorry to say she's disappointed us both, and she must have lied to you," the Old Lady said, her voice very quiet. "She's imprisoned in their capital, and they're likely to keep her there forever, if not execute her."

Sabrina gasped. "_Execute_ her?"

Relda nodded. "Unless, of course, someone can get her out."

"Send me," Sabrina said immediately.

Puck had a feeling that wasn't the best idea, but he wasn't about to do anything that got that look turned on him again, so he kept his mouth shut and hoped the Old Lady would keep her from doing anything too stupid.

She did. "That's not a good idea and you know it," the Old Lady told Sabrina. "For one thing, you've never been to Magica, and you'd stick out like a sore thumb. For another, we need you here, and we can't afford for you to get caught there. It would make things just that much worse. All Sneaks have been forbidden to enter Magica, and if you were there-"

"Fine, I get it," Sabrina interrupted, slouching. "Who are you sending instead. It'd better be someone good-"

"Snow has offered to go," the Old Lady said.

"Ms. White?" Sabrina asked, eyes wide. "But she said she'd never go back there."

"Well, when she found out the news, she changed her mind," the Old Lady said. "I suppose she thought this was important enough to risk things for. She's explained a bit more of the situation to me, and I understand her reasoning."

"Are you sure she's the best choice for the job?" Sabrina asked doubtfully. "We have other Magician refugees who could go in-"

So Snow White the all-powerful warrior lady was from Magica? That explained more than it didn't about her.

The Old Lady cut Sabrina off and said, "I'm not at liberty to discuss why, but I can assure you, Sabrina, Snow is the perfect choice to go into Magica City and perform an extraction. She knows the place well, and on top of that, Daphne trusts her, and will follow her directions more closely than anyone else's- even yours or mine."

Sabrina gave a rueful sigh and said, "That's true enough."

Puck hid a grin behind his hand. From what he'd heard about Daphne, she was as stubborn and independent as her sister- and filled with convictions that were entirely different- so they'd butted heads a lot when they were younger. He got the impression the two were closer now, but he hoped Daphne still took Sabrina down a peg or two once in a while. It would make his job easier- he liked breaking Sabrina's cool, but it was a bit of a big job for one Trickster.

"All right," Sabrina conceded. "When is she leaving?"

"She's already gone," the Old Lady said.

Sabrina's eyes widened, and Puck saw disappointment there. He got the impression that Sabrina had planned on finagling her way along with the older woman somehow, or at least finding out her route so she could follow her later.

"So... this means there _will_ be a war," Jonas said quietly.

The Old Lady nodded. "Oh, yes, I'm afraid there will most definitely be a war now."

* * *

><p>"Puck," the Old Lady called as they were leaving, the discussion over. "Would you come back here a moment?"<p>

Puck debated, watching Jonas walk off and hoping he could find his way back to his bedroom- probably not, but he supposed he could always ask the Old Lady for help back to his rooms. He nodded and headed back to her. "What's up?" he asked.

"I'd like you to do me a favor," the Old Lady said. "Sabrina- she has a tendency to get ideas in her head and act on them, even if they're not the most rational course of action."

Puck nodded. He knew that.

"She means well," the Old Lady continued, "It's just... sometimes she doesn't stop to _think_."

Puck wasn't sure that was right. He thought Sabrina thought plenty. She just thought while she was on the go, and by the time she got around to the thought that maybe this wasn't the best idea, it was too late and she was already in the thick of things. So maybe it was the 'stop' part that she didn't do. Well, whatever. "What exactly do you want me to do about it?" he asked.

"Well," the Old Lady said, "I was wondering- would you stop her, Puck? She'll want to go after Daphne, and I understand that; I want to go tearing after her myself, but _Sabrina needs to stay here_. It's imperative."

Puck nodded. He wasn't sure he could do it, but- "I'll try," he promised. (Besides, he thought, this could be kind of fun.)

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ So yes, I know- the timeline's a little skewed. Daphne actually isn't supposed to be in jail yet. Don't call me out on it, okay? Needed some momentum (also there's an explanation.)<br>**

**Feature*: "Story of the Worst Kind, A" by RockSuperstar  
><strong>If you have not read this, you need to. Either because you'll see mistakes other people have made and be like 'YES SOMEONE ELSE UNDERSTANDS' or because you've made some of these mistakes and need a bit of a wakeup call. Either way, it's a hilarious parody of any random SG fic. Pure genius.

**Some Review Replies:**

Erynn As Always: **Of course that wasn't the end! It was the right place to end the CHAPTER. Who on EARTH would end a story like that?**

Guest 1: **Thanks!**

Guest 2: **No, not yet. They don't know what's going on there.**

Guest 3: **She wasn't exactly planned, she just kind of showed up.**

Kingsvillereader: **Thanks for the awesome review! :D Update soon enough for you?**

LeeAndAnna: **Thanks for all the pluses! I understand your Daphne issues, but will do nothing to remedy them other than tell you that it's not too many more chapters 'til we get back to her. Like two, maybe. QotU: That's an interesting one.**

Meow:** It had been four days since I updated when you submitted that review, you know. In my book, that's not a long time. I update on Thursdays or Fridays pretty consistently. You can ask me to update, just please say something about why you want me to other than that you're impatient. Otherwise I feel nagged.**

_*Features will, unless something changes, now come from my favorites list, instead of being stories similar to this one. You should totally still check them out._


	24. Prison Breaks

**AN~ Day early because I'm leaving for Georgia tomorrow.  
><strong>

QotU: What's the best thing to have for Easter dinner? Or Passover or whatever you guys celebrate?

**Old QotU Winner: emowriter. Totally emowriter. Lots of stuff on her spring to-do list.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Daphne had been in the cell for all of a day when Ms. White came to rescue her.<p>

A day was plenty of time, to be honest. The cell was in the center of the mountain, so it had no windows. In fact, it didn't even technically have a door. The Magicians had hollowed out a place in the middle of their city and transported her there with magic. Magic was also keeping her from running out of air. She wondered what would happen if the spell failed, or if whoever had set it going died.

Daphne had never paid complete attention to this before, but almost all of the rooms in Magica connected to the others, little tunnels leading to the outside. It let in natural light and air, and also opened the place up. She noticed now, though, in the absence of these things. She was breathing stale air, now, and it smelled wet, musty, and like unwashed humans- or maybe that was her.

There was a small light floating near the center of the room, a white ball of glass that gave out a faint but steady glow that just showed her how small and jagged this cell was. It gave off no heat, and this room was full of the cold of something that has never known the sun. Daphne, in a lightweight gown meant for easy motion, not mountain survival, shivered constantly.

There were few other things in the room. One, a small bowl on one of the flatter of the uneven outcroppings in the room, would, three times a day, fill with some sort of soupy substance that tasted like nothing but was very filling and left her both nourished and with her thirst quenched. Another was a chamber pot that, like all others in Magica, emptied automatically after use. The last thing was a pile of moldy blankets. Daphne was just starting to get cold enough that she was willing to use them.

She was dwelling on everything that had gone wrong. She'd just wanted to learn magic. What was wrong with that? She wanted to be able to change things, to be powerful in a way her family wasn't. She'd only wanted to be good at something. And she'd trusted Pinocchio. She'd- by all things holy, she'd _fancied_ him a little bit, and still did, to be honest. She fancied a traitorous not-a-friend who'd ruined everything. This had been her one chance to show she could be a useful sort of Sneak, and now she was stuck in a filthy hole in the center of a mountain for... well, forever, maybe. Sabrina would be so disappointed.

At least there weren't any rats.

... She didn't _think_ there were, anyway. She supposed the Magicians might have teleported a few rats into the cell to make things worse. And there- a scratching noise in the wall off to her right, and oh goodness there _were_ rats now what was she going to do? Those things were disgusting, and she didn't have anywhere she could go to escape them. She couldn't spend the rest of her life trapped in a hole in a rock with _rats_!

She climbed up onto a ledge at the back of the room, drawing herself into the smallest possible blob and searching for something she could use to smash anything that moved.

There wasn't anything. Unless she tried to smother the thing with a moldy blanket, of course.

The scratching was getting louder. Daphne whimpered and pulled herself even smaller as the noise got louder and louder and rats couldn't be _that_ loud could they? She supposed they could, because that noise just got louder and bigger and closer until-

There was a crash, and a section of the top of the right wall fell into her room, clattering onto the floor and breaking.

"I knew they couldn't have completely gotten rid of the door to the oubliette," a familiar voice- one Daphne hadn't heard in a very long time- said.

Daphne gasped and sat up straight, uncurling in a blur of motion and hitting her head on another outcropping of rock in the process. She whimpered and climbed down more slowly, rubbing her head. She turned to the voice and asked, trembling, "Ms. White?"

Ms. White, who was indeed the person who'd just joined Daphne in the cell, climbed down into the room and smiled at the girl. "Oh, Daphne, I missed you."

Daphne ran over to her favorite teacher and wrapped her arms around her, asking a rush of questions.

"Slow down," Ms. White said. "I have to get you out of here before someone notices. I've got a cloaking spell on, but you haven't. And they're bound to know I broke through their wall."

"Okay," Daphne said, quieting.

Ms. White picked up a pickaxe she'd dropped on the ground when Daphne hugged her and used it to climb her way back up the wall into her tunnel, then she leaned down and pulled Daphne up after her. She turned and began to crawl through her small, mostly straight tunnel, into the dark.

The tunnel wasn't made of rock, Daphne noticed, pulling the split skirt of her dress apart so she could crawl more easily. It was thickly packed clay with rocks mixed in. That explained why Ms. White could work her way through it.

"How did you know where to find me?" Daphne asked. "How did you know I was even here? I only got tried an hour ago. How did you get here this fast?"

"We got an early warning," Snow said. "Another Magica refugee can see the future, and she told me what was going to happen. I left as soon as we found out."

"But how did you find me?" Daphne asked.

"I used to live in Magica City," Ms. White said. "This was the path to the oubliette- the cells we put people in to forget about them. My mother showed them to me. They filled in the visitor's path since I left. Not very well, though."

"I thought oubliettes were very deep pits with grates on top of them," Daphne said.

"Most are," Ms. White agreed. "But Magica likes to be different."

Daphne smiled a little sadly. "I like most of their different."

Ms. White's voice was sad, too, when she said, "So do I. Magica was a wonderful place when I was younger. But then the revolution happened and the little problems got worse, not better. Now everyone's afraid- and when people are afraid, they do things they'll end up regretting."

"Oh," Daphne said quietly, thinking of Pinocchio, and of everyone else she'd met; everyone she'd thought liked her; everyone who hadn't helped her, who'd let her be thrown in prison.

They crawled in silence for several minutes, through the dark, uneven tunnel, until Ms. White said, "We're almost to the end of the tunnel. Daphne- do you know how to do a cloaking spell?"

"No," Daphne said. "Pinocchio was going to teach me, but then-"

Ms. White said, "All right, then-" there was a rustling noise, and a small bag on a coarse string was shoved towards Daphne. "Wear this," Ms. White finished. "It'll keep anyone from seeing you magically. If they actually _see_ you, though, you're in trouble."

"All right," Daphne agreed, pulling the string over her head. "Where are we going after this?"

"The safest way out is down a lot, through the monster hall," Ms. White said. "Nobody will look for us there."

"Why not?" Daphne asked.

"Because it's full of monsters," Ms. White responded.

Daphne stared at the spot of darkness Ms. White's voice was coming from. "And that's the safest way out?"

Ms. White said, "Yes. There are no guards there. With the monsters we have a chance. Any other way, we're dead."

"Oh," Daphne said softly. Then she sat up straight and asked, "But what about the people who came with me? How will they get out?"

"They're already on their way home," Ms. White said. "They didn't do anything wrong, so the Magicians don't want to risk keeping them here. This way they can declare war on Sneak without looking like they're the ones at fault."

"Oh," Daphne said softly. "This whole thing was a setup, wasn't it? They didn't really want a treaty. They just wanted an excuse to start a war."

"Yes," Ms. White agreed. "We should have seen it coming- whispers of war and then a request for a peace talk? It's just too conflicting. But your grandmother hoped-"

"And I messed it up," Daphne whispered, hating herself at that moment.

"No, Daphne, no," Ms. White assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't. You were just the excuse to start things. They'd have latched on to anything to get this going."

"Okay," Daphne said, not sure she agreed entirely. "Let's go, then."

Ms. White began crawling forward again, and Daphne followed, and suddenly she was crawling into a tapestry-_ how convenient_, she thought to herself, wondering if Sneaks were the only people who automatically thought of tapestries as a hiding place, or if the Magicians might get suspicious as well. They certainly didn't _seem_ suspicious of the space behind the hanging of a ship on the ocean, the words _New Hope_ emblazoned on it in gold thread.

Daphne was going to say something, but she remembered just in time that they were supposed to be sneaking and clamped her mouth shut firmly, following Ms. White as silently as she could. She was all too aware that she wasn't a very good Sneak.

They wound their way down through the mountain, staying away from the light and hiding whenever they heard a noise- Magica City was a very easy place to hide, because the people were fond of putting knickknacks all over the place. Large knickknacks.

After several tense hours of walking, with more close calls than Daphne cared to think about, Ms. White led her to a familiar door.

Daphne gasped and shrank away. This explained so much.

"What is it?" Ms. White asked, her voice almost silent.

"This is Red's room," Daphne said, almost as quietly.

Ms. White nodded and said, "I know. I came in this way."

Daphne started to ask, "Who is-"

Ms. White cut her off, though, putting a finger to Daphne's lips. She pulled open the door and began walking, even more quietly and carefully, into the dark space Daphne had only been once before- the place she'd never wanted to go back to.

The inside of the place was as dark as it had been last time, if not more so, and though Daphne had to admit it wasn't as dark as the oubliette, it was far more frightening. The dark red curtains rustled, and try as she might, Daphne's footsteps joined the low background growls, their gentle thuds making the rumbling noises seem louder.

She twisted her head around as she walked, biting her lip and straining to see something- anything- making that noise, just so she could know what she was afraid of. She faced forward again on her way to look the other way, and stopped short- a smiling face was inches in front of her. She stifled a gasp and stumbled backwards.

"Hello," Red said, stepping forward, closer to Daphne. "You're supposed to be in prison. I watched them put you there. What are you doing out here? Have you come back to play with me?"

Daphne shook her head, still tripping her way backwards, her hands stretched out behind her, groping for anything that she could touch. There was nothing. She'd just come from there, and it was empty.

Except suddenly there was something: a big, leathery mass of lumps under her fingers. She stretched one hand down it and felt it end in long, narrow, smoothly tapered curves. She whimpered, hoping it was a very poorly chosen chair.

A large and slightly sticky mass of wetness fell on her head, splashing off and dripping down her face, and Daphne looked up, trembling because she already knew the thing behind her wasn't a chair, but she had to look anyway.

When she saw the thing, she had to stifle a scream. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew it was a monster. Its teeth were at least as long as her arm, set in a drooling mouth that could fit a whole horse inside itself- a large horse. Its yellow eyes, the size of peacock eggs, had slit pupils and heavy, leathery lids. The thin neck led down to an equally narrow body, leading to the huge feet with their long claws, one of which she was half-leaning on.

Daphne let of a small whimper-like cry, taking her hand off the thing very slowly. She understood why they called it the monster hall, now.

"Don't be afraid of my kitty," Red said, still moving closer, that huge grin filling up her face. "He won't hurt you unless I tell him to."

Oh, that was some relief, right there. Daphne fought to keep her expression blank. Where was Ms. White? She should be here! Daphne was going to die, and she was off doing her own thing!

"Hello, Red."

Oh, _there _was Ms. White. Thank goodness.

Red spun around, taking those piercing yellow-brown eyes off of Daphne and exclaiming, "Oh, your highness! I haven't seen you in... it must be years, now! How have you been? Are you here to play house with me? I have a mommy now, so you don't have to be my mommy anymore, but you can be my grandmother! I still need a grandmother. This girl was going to play house with me, but then she left. It wasn't very polite of her."

_Your majesty? _Daphne, who had just begun to relax a bit, edging away from the monster behind her, but when she head Red say that, she froze. She supposed Red could be making things up- she did that, didn't she?

But she'd sounded so _serious_, and Ms. White wasn't even blinking at Red's words.

"No, Red, I can't play right now," Ms. White said gently. "I'm glad you found a mother, though. May I see her?"

Red shifted from side to side and said doubtfully, "I'm not supposed to let anyone see my parents. It's part of the rules."

"What rules?" Ms. White asked. Her voice was carefully neutral the whole time she spoke, but Daphne saw the sharpness in her eyes. Ms. White thought there was something going on here, something that had to do with those parents.

"The rules that say I can keep my parents, silly!" Red said, giggling. "They were a present from the mirror-man, and he said I could keep them forever as long as I never showed them to anybody." She frowned. "They're not very good at playing house, though. They're always sleeping."

"Well, how can we play if we don't see your parents, though?" Daphne asked, getting an idea.

Ms. White and Red both looked over at her very quickly, as if they'd forgotten she was there. Ms. White's expression was slightly panicked, and she shook her head emphatically, motioning for Daphne to take it back. Red was surprised, a bit confused, and delighted.

"You're going to play house with me?" Red asked, clapping her hands. "Wonderful!" She paused. "But her majesty-" _there it was again_ "-said that you didn't have time to play house." She smiled again. "Did you change your mind? Oh, wonderful!" She stopped again and said, "But I don't need a sister. Who can you be?"

"You said you needed a doggy, right?" Daphne asked, thinking back to the last time she'd been in this place. "I can be your doggy- just for pretend."

Ms. White was mouthing _What are you doing? _over Red's head, her eyes wide and terrified.

Daphne tried to smile reassuringly at her and continued to say to Red, "We'll play with you- Ms. White will be your grandmother, and I'll be your doggy- just for a bit, all right? Just for an hour or so, if you show us your mommy and daddy, we'll play with you."

Red thought about this for a little bit, then smiled brightly- most of the frightening part was gone- and said, "Okay! That sounds like a good idea!" Then she giggled. "Ms. White- that's a silly name for her majesty."

"You promise?" Ms. White asked, jumping back into the conversation. "We'll only be here for an hour, and then you won't get upset when we leave?"

Red nodded and said solemnly, "I promise."

"All right," Ms. White said, "Then let's play house."

Red grinned, skipping ahead of them and calling, "Come on, kitty! Let's show them the house! Oh, this is so exciting!"

The monster bounded after her, following the insane girl like he _was_ some sort of bewitched kitten. Daphne went to follow, but Ms. White dragged her back, catching her by the elbow.

"What on earth were you _thinking_?" Ms. White hissed. "That was completely spontaneous and stupid- it was something I'd expect from your _sister_, not you!"

Daphne, unused to hearing something bad about Sabrina's plans as of late- the Queen of the Sneaks hadn't made any big stupid rash decisions since she turned thirteen- tried to reconcile Ms. White's anger with her own knowledge of her sister's past, and decided Ms. White had every right to use that accusation, even if Sabrina didn't do things like that anymore.

"I was thinking that you obviously wanted to know who those people were that she's pretending are her parents, and that I'd like to get on her good side so I don't get eaten by her monster," Daphne said. "Sorry."

Ms. White shook her head. "No, I'm sorry," she said, "It was a good plan. I overreacted- I was worried about you. But you handled her well."

Daphne grinned, glowing inside.

"Hey!" Red called back to them. "Doggies don't talk! Sh!"

Daphne clapped her lips shut, eyes widening. She hoped the girl didn't make her crawl around on her hands and knees- she'd done enough of that for one day.

"All right, grandmother," Red said, once Daphne and Ms. White had reached the wall where the curtains were. "We're going to have a tea party. I like tea parties, don't you?"

"Oh yes," Ms. White said, nodding. "Very much indeed."

Red led them to a set of chairs that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and she sat down. Ms. White sat down, too. Daphne sat down on the floor, though, Red's earlier admonishment about what dogs did and didn't do still ringing through her head.

Red served Ms. White imaginary tea and very real, very stale-looking biscuits, which Ms. White accepted graciously. The two ate, and Daphne decided she was glad she wasn't seated at the table. The biscuits looked kind of disgusting.

But she wished Red would let her talk.

Ms. White and Red were talking about nothing at all, and Daphne was sitting there on the floor waiting, trying to send mind-waves or something to get them to move it on, or at least pay attention to her a little bit. This was boring and uncomfortable.

And then the monster, the 'kitty,' came and sat right behind Red, wrapping itself around most of the table, its tail curling outside around Daphne, blocking her in the small ring the beast made around the table. It was watching her as Red and Ms. White talked, still drooling profusely out between those long, sharp fangs, its yellow eyes boring into her skull, making her skin crawl.

Now she wished even more that they would hurry up.

Finally, at last, Ms. White said pointedly, "And how are your parents, Red? I haven't seen them in so long."

"They're-" Red started, then she sat up straighter and said, "Oh! I completely forgot." She giggled that frightening giggle again and said, "Come on, I'll show them to you."

Red stood up and skipped her way to the left of the table, leading Ms. White and Daphne, who refused to walk on her hands and knees, much as the monster glared at her, toward a bed that appeared out of the shadows.

"Here they are!" Red said proudly, "My parents!"

Daphne gasped, and Ms. White put a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't believe what she saw in that bed.

Lying next to each other, eyes closed in a peaceful sleep, were Daphne's long-missing parents.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ THAT was not how I planned this to go. But that's okay. Hope you guys like cliffhangers.<br>**

**Feature: Bittersweet Ending by xXOnceUponADreamXx  
><strong>Why have you not read this? You seriously need to have read this. Go do it. NOW. That is all. (Srsly guys this is amazing and you need to be reading it. It's got a PLOT and FLUFF and ADVENTURE and BRIAR COMES BACK TO LIVE and DRAGONS and stuff.)

**Some Review Replies:**

Guest 1: **I don't think I could live in Canada if you guys are still getting snow. I mean, we're getting some snow, but it's melting the next day. Thanks!**

Guest 2: **We shall see next chapter Or in two chapters. ;)**

Kingsvillereader: **:) (I was a bit worried my Sneak description might seem a bit truncated compared to the Trickster stuff, but I thought I could get away with it because Puck isn't as detail-focused as Sabrina and because this story isn't really ABOUT the countries, so I'm glad you approve.) We shall see what Puck does and it maybe might follow the books just the tiniest bit ;)****  
><strong>

LeeAndAnna: **:) Your review made me very happy. QotU: Well, I just found somewhere I'm not moving. Puddle jumping sounds cool, though.**

Meow: **QotU: I like tulips and gardening, too. :) I would make an awful cheerleader, though. Yeah, I update once a week. The next chapter will probably be about Daphne, but I won't add much about Trickster because none of my narrators are there- all we'll get is secondhand. I'm not planning on adding any more chapters like the letter chapter. ****Everafters aren't in this universe. Just people who are weird in Magica or who WOULD be Everafters in the other countries. But nobody lives forever and they aren't from fairy tales here.**

Nello Orella**: QotU: It makes me sad thinking about that winter coming for you, but it's only because I'm tired of winter and ready for warm. Chapter: Well, at the risk of spoilers, they DO end up in Magica, but that's not how.**

romancecries34:** I'm glad you like it, and if you ever feel the need to point out the grammar mistakes, I'm going to be going back and editing this once it's complete, and any help would be wonderful. I'm not going to update faster, I update once a week- it's all I can really manage, with school and work and everything.**


	25. Broken Promises

**AN~ Heck yeah wrote this all in two days so I could get it up on time for y'all!  
><strong>

QotU: Best vacation ever and why?

**Old QotU Winner: Dunwannalogin's jelly beans inside a chocolate bunny. Because that's just awesome.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"Those are my parents!" Daphne half-shouted. Then she clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide. She didn't know what the right thing to say was, but she was sure that wasn't it.<p>

"Doggies don't-" Red started, turning to Daphne with that scary-big smile. Then what Daphne had said sunk in and her face twisted into something monstrous as she yelled, "No! They're _my _parents! You can't take them!"

"Daphne," Ms. White said softly, backing away from Red, "I think it's time to leave, now..."

"No!" Red shouted, reaching out for Snow. "Stay!"

Daphne's eyes widened in terror. Red had heard her. This little girl had suddenly gone from mildly disturbing to absolutely horrifying, and they were in her home- with her monster. She understood why Pinocchio- she was too afraid even to feel pain at the thought of what he'd done to her- why Pinocchio hadn't wanted her to stay out of this place.

Red was crouched protectively in front of 'her' parent's bed, her eyes narrowed into slits and her hands curled into claws. One hand still stretched out towards Ms. White, reaching for her without moving forward. Above her, the monster growled. A ring on Red's hand sparked color.

"Daphne," Ms. White said, warning in her voice, not bothering to keep her voice down now, "You should go now."

"You _promised_!" Red shrieked, her voice rising at least two octaves. "An hour, you said! It hasn't been an hour!"

Her eyes turned to Daphne, narrowing even further. Daphne could have sworn they glowed. "It's _your_ fault," she hissed, her voice dropping to the other end of the vocal spectrum, deep and dark.

"_Run_!" Ms. White yelled at Daphne. "We're close to the exit, if you can-"

Daphne was already running, almost sure she'd gotten the right direction, but not positive, hoping, hoping-

Red's monstrous Kitty appeared in front of Daphne, and she fell into a foot-first slide that Sabrina would have been proud of, scuffing her way between the thing's legs. She got a brief view of its surprised face above her, and a large drop of drool landed nearly on her head, hitting her braid with a smack, and then she was behind it again. The tunnel was narrowing a little. She could tell because she'd run into the side much sooner than she ought have, ending her slide with an abrupt crash into the wall that scraped her knees and did even more damage to her dress than the slide had- so much for that outfit. Too bad, she'd liked it, too.

She pushed herself off the wall, ignoring the pain in her knees and shins as best she could, and took off running away from the monster again, hoping that Ms. White was following her, or could get herself out. Ms. White could take care of herself, right? Of course she could. She was strong, and brave, and capable, and smart, and- She'd be fine. Daphne was sure of it.

She shook the image of Red's twisted face out of her head and ran on.

Behind her she could hear Red screaming something indecipherable, and the pounding of the thing's enormous feet on the rock of the floor. She was surprised it didn't shake the cave to bits.

There was a beat, and suddenly the cavern was much lighter, and Daphne could definitely see that it got narrower as it went on, which meant she must be going in the right direction but-

But the thing that was making the cave light up was fire, coming from the monster's mouth, and _she was going to die_. That was it. Her life was going to end today. She fell into another desperate slide, this one face-first, in an adrenaline-fueled attempt to keep herself from being roasted. Now her front was as scraped up as her lower legs, but the pain meant she hadn't been burned to death, and she could get up and running again.

Daphne ran and ran, dodging and ducking and jumping sideways in a furious attempt to _not die_ until she was exhausted, the tatters of her skirt singed, bleeding in more places than she thought she could count. The cavern had gotten narrow enough that the thing couldn't follow her, and shortly after that, it had turned, so she was safe from the monster. Safe and alive.

She leaned against the wall, panting heavily. The realization slowly sunk in that she wasn't honestly much better off than before. She was still alone, in the dark, surrounded by people who wanted to kill her, in the center of a mountain with no friends and no way to get home.

She sank to the dark floor of the cave, and, for the first time since this whole mess had begun, Daphne began to cry.

* * *

><p>This was it- Puck was sure. It had been nearly a week since Snow had left, and Sabrina still hadn't made her move. But she was going to. He knew her well enough to be sure of that. He'd been watching her, and he might not be as good at that observing thing as she was, but he saw the anticipation in her eyes, her jerkiness, and he knew she was heading out tonight.<p>

He'd sort of wondered if he ought to make his move earlier, before she went to leave, but he figured- well, he ought to be sure first, right? He didn't want to do anything drastic if he didn't have to. It went with that nice thing he was trying to work on sometimes. And she'd _definitely_ hate him after this. So he wanted to be absolutely positive it was necessary.

He had his plan all worked out. That was a good thing, since he was pretty close to positive Sabrina had her plan even more worked out- unusual for her, but she'd taken a week to do it, so she _had_ to be planning something. It only made sense. She was the only person he knew who could plan to be thoughtless.

He was waiting for her outside her bedroom window, leaning against a respectably solid palace wall in the shadows of below her most likely exit point. He'd thought about this long and hard- she wouldn't go out through her door because there were guards and things there, and this window had a big tree next to it, giving him the shadows to hide in. And if he had shadows, she had shadows. So she would come out this window, down this tree, and he would be there, waiting for her. And she'd be surprised. Because if she heard him when he moved, the solution was obviously to be in a place where he didn't have to move. He grinned. This plan was awesome.

Now he just needed Sabrina to hurry up and get out here so he could spring into action.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, there was a rustling noise above his head, and he turned to look at it. A figure in a very difficult to distinguish dark outfit was descending from the tree- Sabrina. Realizing that he'd seen her, he blinked a few times, surprised. Was this how she noticed things all the time? It was pretty neat, actually. A bit exhausting, though.

He also realized that he'd been right about where she'd be coming out, and he grinned. He'd gotten it right! Show her! _And _ his mom!

She was on the ground, now, with a soft '_whump,' _and it was time for him to make his move. As she straightened and moved to walk off towards the outer wall, he stepped forward and asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

She jumped, spinning around with eyes wide in the dark. "Puck!" she hissed. "What do you think you're _doing_?"

He grinned. He'd gotten that right _and_ he'd surprised her! Tonight was going great. "I'm keeping you from getting yourself into something stupid," he said, in answer to her question. "What do you think _you're_ doing?"

"I'm going to get my sister back!" Sabrina snapped. "Now let me go!"

Puck, who hadn't been holding her at all up until now, decided this was a good idea. He took three long steps forward and grabbed her by the arm, hoping she wouldn't pull some crazy Sneak move out of her bag of tricks and break his arm or something. She didn't, and he said, "Grimm. Don't be stupid."

She snorted and said, "Like you're one to talk."

"Exactly," he said, nodding. "Learn from my stupid. Don't do this."

"Why not?" she challenged.

Good. She'd given him an opening- that was what he'd been hoping for. Stage two of his plan, after stage one: surprise her, was to reason with her and hope she'd listen. Stage three was where things got ugly. So he said, "Just think about what you're doing for a minute, okay?"

"I have thought about it," she said. "I've done nothing _but_ think about it for the past week! And I have to go after my sister."

"Sure," Puck said, "Go running off into a country you've never been to, a country that's ready to declare war on you if they get _any_ more incentive, to rescue a girl who's already got friends and a rescuer in the country who actually know what they're doing, who've seen the place, and who are way older and more experience than you are. Fine. That's okay. Because she's your sister, so this obviously makes you a billion more times qualified to go after her than anybody else."

Sabrina gaped at him, her expression getting angrier and angrier. "You know what?" she snapped. "I don't have to listen to you!" She yanked her arm away from him.

Puck's grip held. Barely. He sighed. So much for stage two. Now it was time for stage three: force.

Puck wasn't stupid. He knew he'd never be able to take Sabrina in a fight, except maybe with a sword. She was better trained, faster, and lighter, though maybe not stronger- not anymore. So he knew if he wanted to keep his promise to the Old Lady, he'd need to resort to what he did best: trickery and gadgets.

A friend of his back in Trickster had invented a nifty gadget made out of two iron bracelets connected by a chain. The bracelets sealed with a key, and only the person with the key could open them. He had a set, and he'd brought them with him now. He was fairly certain Sabrina could pick locks, but he ought to be able to keep her from doing that for long enough that she'd see reason.

He pulled the things out- cuffs, his friends had called them- and slapped them onto first Sabrina's wrist, then, while she was trying to figure out what he was doing, onto his own. They closed with a click in the silent nighttime. That was it. No going back now.

"_What did you do_?" Sabrina wailed in an intense half-whisper of astonishment, anger, and dread. She was pulling at the cuffs, twisting them, trying to find a way free.

He flashed her a smile that was mostly bravado and said, "I'm making sure you stay here."

"I can't go rescue Daphne now!" Sabrina wailed again, her voice louder this time. "You ruined everything, Puck! You always ruin everything!"

Puck didn't say anything. His retort of "well, duh, that was kind of the point" had died when Sabrina's later words had spilled out of her mouth, and now he was silent, all his comebacks dead on his lips.

"Let me go!" she demanded. "Open them!"

"Not until you see how stupid you're being," Puck said stoically.

She growled and kicked at him. "I hate you!" she snapped.

He managed, just barely, to dodge her kick, and said, "I know. So will you agree to stay here?"

"Fine," she said immediately, her voice flat and hard, her eyes on his displaced shin.

He flashed her a lopsided grin. "Come on, how dumb do you think I am?" he asked. "You're gonna have to mean it- or at least fake it better than that."

She was silent, fuming.

"Can't, can ya?" he asked, grin widening into something resembling symmetrical. "Figured."

"Well, it's not like you're going to believe me whatever I say!" Sabrina snapped, jerking her wrist away from him again.

Puck held in a wince. No way he'd show her how much it hurt when she dug that metal into his skin- not until she showed it bothered her, at least. Probably not even then. He realized, then, that he'd have to keep her away from lockpicks, and anything else she could use to break herself out. This might be a bit harder than he'd thought. She was a stubborn girl.

He pulled the key out of his pocket and dangled it in front of her. "Come on," he cajoled. "All you got to do is admit it's crazy to go after the princess and then stay here. It's not that hard."

She snapped her hand forward, snatching for the key, but for once he was quicker- he'd been expecting it- and held the key up higher, well above her reach.

"Give- me- that!" She said, each word coming out in a spurt of breath as she jumped for the thing.

"What's the matter?" he asked, smirking. "Too short?"

He decided too late that that hadn't been the right thing to say. She stopped jumping, eyes sparking angrily, and spun, whaling a punch towards his gut. It connected in a spasm of pain, and he doubled over, key now clenched in his fist. She had a heck of a right hook, he realized, wide-eyed, his breath leaving his lungs in a whoof.

As soon as her fist left his chest she was already turning to his fist, her hands scrambling to pull his fist apart. "Give it to me!" she demanded, her voice rising, for the first time that night, above a passionate whisper.

He pulled his fingers tighter together, burying the key completely inside his fist as he tried to get his breath back together enough to talk. Because maybe if he could make enough noise he could get someone else out here, someone with sense. These people were light sleepers. They'd hear and wake up. And they'd tell Sabrina she was being stupid, and help him keep her here.

He straightened, finally, but when he tried to lift his hand back up above her reach, she clung to it, dragging him back down, fingernails digging into his skin.

She was a vixen! That was the third time she'd hurt him in the past fifteen minutes! "Stop it," he said, peeling her fingers off of his free hand with his other. "You're bruising my delicate flesh, shorty."

She snarled and raked her removed hand towards his face.

"Whoa-hoa-hoa!" he said, jerking his head backwards. "Chill, you crazy cat lady!"

"Give me that key!" Sabrina demanded. "Now!"

"Heck no!" Puck said. "You just scratched me! I'm a king! You don't do bodily harm to a king!"

"I'll do whatever I want!" she hissed.

"Okay," he said, grinning. "Didn't know you were into that."

She growled at him. "Not like that, you-"

"_What_ is going on here?" a voice Puck had never heard before asked, sounding bewildered and a bit angry.

Sabrina and Puck turned simultaneously. Sabrina dropped her hand, and Puck pulled his back up out of her reach. Standing near a piece of castle that was not nearly as solid as Puck's chosen bit of wall was a small group of people, all gaping at the spectacle made by the two teenaged royals.

"He stuck me to him and won't give me the key!" Sabrina snapped, jerking her head at Puck. "Help me get it so I can get free!"

"Your majesty, why do you have so much gear?" someone else asked. Sabrina _was_ certainly well-laden, with bags and belts dangling from several places on her slight frame. "I didn't know you were going on any mission..."

"She wasn't," Puck said grimly, jerking his wrist in warning as Sabrina tried to unattach some of the bags from her clothes surreptitiously.

Someone slipped away, back into the castle.

"What was she doing?" someone else asked.

Puck looked at the crowd warily. They didn't look like they trusted him, quite, but they didn't look outright disbelieving, either, so he said, "She was sneaking off to rescue her sister. Which she _promised_ not to do." He glared down at Sabrina meaningfully. Breaking promises wasn't a very good thing, in his book.

She glared right back at him rebelliously.

"Your majesty?" someone asked timidly. "Is this true?"

"Oh come on!" she snapped. "Who are you going to believe? Your queen or that... Trickster?" she said the last word like she'd say _snake_, like it was dirty. Like he couldn't be trusted.

That bothered him. After all the time she'd known him, she'd still act like that? Sure she was mad, but that was a low blow. There was nothing wrong with being a Trickster. He told her so. "I joke about little things," he said. "Not stuff like this. That's slander."

Normally she'd have made some snide remark about him using a big word like slander, but this time she just rolled her eyes viciously and said, "Sure you wouldn't."

Puck ignored the way her tone hurt, forcing himself to remember what he'd done to her. He'd known this would make her angry. But he'd had to do it. And she was just talking to make a point, to hurt him, because she was angry. She didn't meant it. He hoped.

"What are you waiting for?" Sabrina asked her subjects, turning back to them. "Help me out here!"

Her subjects looked at her and didn't move. Puck had to look at them twice to make sure he was seeing straight. There was doubt in their eyes. He knew because he recognized it from his childhood, when he'd told his mother his side of an argument with Mustardseed. They weren't sure Sabrina was telling the truth! This was amazing!

"What do you think?" one person asked another, voice low. Puck had to strain to hear it. He didn't think Sabrina heard it at all.

"She _has_ done this sort of thing before," the second person said, voice just as soft.

"But that was years ago," the first Sneak reminded the second. "She hasn't been that foolish in... nearly four years, I'd say."

"She hasn't lost a family member since then," the second pointed out. "She'd do anything for her sister."

"Even something this foolish, though?" the first asked.

"I don't know," the second said. "But look at the Trickster. He doesn't look like he's lying."

Sabrina was still watching, her eyes getting wider and wider, her body beginning to jitter. She knew they weren't about to help. She saw it just as well as he did. And she needed their help. Puck was too prepared for her to win this on her own. He smiled the tiniest bit when he realized that- he'd _won_, basically.

He could let her free now, he supposed. With all these people up and moving around, she couldn't exactly go running off tonight. Nah, he decided. Not until she agreed. Because right now she _was_ acting stupid enough to leave as soon as he let her free. He could see her in his mind's eye, sprinting off into the blue-gray night of the courtyard, yelling some farewell backsass at everyone who tried to chase her.

The person who'd gone back inside came out, then, leading the Old Lady with him.

The Old Lady took in the situation in an instant and said, "Sabrina, I'm disappointed in you."

"Disappointed in me? What about _him_?" Sabrina demanded, pointing at Puck.

"Puck did what I asked him to do," the Old Lady said. "I hoped you wouldn't try to run off, but I thought you would, so I asked Puck to keep an eye on you. And he did an excellent job."

Puck nearly glowed with the praise.

Sabrina collapsed a little and muttered, "All right, so he stopped me. Can you make him get me out of these things now?"

The Old Lady shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, Sabrina, but until you see reason, you're staying right how you are."

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ I think my favorite thing about third person is that it lets me get away with doing things like using 'surreptitiously' in Puck's POV.<br>**

**Feature: "Whispers in the Dark" by KrissM3  
><strong>This is one of the stories I beta, so I'm a little attached to it, but even if I wasn't betaing it I'd still think it's an awesome story. It's the only one I've seen of its kind in the category, and it deals with a lot of adult issues that could stem from Sabrina's childhood. It's very real, kind of dark, and beautifully written. Go read it. Srsly. (Only if you're over like thirteen, though.)

**Some Review Replies:**

Dunwannalogin: **:) Yeah, Daphne did have a long wait. QotU: Wow. I've never heard of that before.**

Kingsvillereader: **You may not have liked this chapter altogether much, then...**

Meow: **See, MAGIC exists. But you don't need Everafters to have magic. This is an AU, so I don't need Everafters. Does that make sense? I'm glad you liked the chapter, it was fun to write. :) (I'd actually love to be an author.) QotU: Chocolate is quite tasty.**

Nello Orella**: QotU: Chocolate is always awesome. Previous stuff: I... don't like cold very much. Chapter: Yup, Ms. White is totally royalty.**

Randomchick:** No, I'm not dead. I went to Georgia. I'm pretty sure the break was only a little longer than usual, though... I promise I'll make it very clear when the story's over, okay?**

RUDOD: **I try. :) QotU: Well, that's too bad. My family is fun when we get together. Except that my one aunt and my mom don't get along too well.**


	26. Escape

**AN~ Well, it's done! Hiatus is over, I finished my finals, got a 4.0 for the semester, and have graduation on Saturday!  
><strong>

QotU: Hardest class you've ever taken?

**Old QotU Winner: Nello Orella went to Mongolia. That's pretty awesome. Though everyone's vacations sounded amazing, that's the one that stuck with me.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Footsteps came down the cavern, and Daphne glanced up, squinting into the darkness, hoping to see something- anything. She couldn't, so she switched to hoping that it was Ms. White coming towards her, and not someone else. She thought the footsteps sounded a bit heavy to be Red, but she wasn't sure. She bit her lip and huddled into a small lump, trying not to shiver. Maybe, if it wasn't Ms. White, whoever it was wouldn't notice her.<p>

No such luck. The footsteps got closer and closer and didn't stop and then suddenly a foot ran into Daphne, hard, sending whoever owned it over her legs and onto the floor on her other side with a loud thud.

Daphne winced, swallowing a whimper. Maybe they'd think she was a rock. A soft, cloth-covered rock...

"Daphne?" Ms. White's voice came from the direction of the sounds of the person who'd tripped over her picking themself up. It was Ms. White.

Daphne, whose tears had dried up a long time ago, almost started sobbing again, this time out of relief. She threw herself at the shadow that was Ms. White, almost missing and sending herself to the floor, too. As it was, she tackled her favorite teacher and they both landed against the cavern wall forcefully, Daphne clinging to Ms. White's side, instead of her front like she'd been aiming for, and Ms. White wrapping her arms back around Daphne, a little less forcefully.

"You were gone so long," Daphne whispered. "I thought- I thought- I thought you'd-"

"I'm fine," Ms. White promised. "I just got a little held up." She picked herself up off the floor, pulling Daphne with her, and said, "Now listen, it ought to be much smoother sailing from here on out, but it's a long walk. A very long walk. We'll be in here for a few days, probably, before we get out and to safety. Can you handle that?"

Daphne nodded, then, realizing that Ms. White couldn't see that, said, "Uh-huh." She'd noticed vaguely that Ms. White had a bag with her, and she decided now that it had food and camping equipment in it.

"Good," Ms. White said, "I'm glad you're not claustrophobic."

"That means afraid of tight spaces, right?" Daphne asked, already knowing the answer but needing to say it out loud. "Yeah, me too."

"Come on," Ms. White said, disentangling herself the rest of the way from Daphne's arms. "We'd better get started. We're behind as it is, and I only have enough food for a week."

Daphne steadied herself and followed Ms. White into the darkness, hoping that somewhere along the line there would be a light. She could live without sunshine for a week if it meant getting out of that cave, but she didn't think she could live without any light at all for that long. She'd get out of the cave with more bruises than an apple from the bottom of the barrel.

* * *

><p>Ms. White did have a lantern, it turned out, but she'd only brought enough oil to last a little while, and she didn't think it would stay lit while they were moving, so she only turned it on after she and Daphne had stopped for the night... or just to sleep and eat, because it might not have been nighttime at all, for all they knew.<p>

The two both had hard rolls and strips of cheese and dried meat. Daphne had piled hers together the way she always did, but Ms. White was eating them separately. There was a small underground stream running next to their campsite, so they were drinking from that instead of using Ms. White's limited supply of water. Two thin but warm and relatively soft bedrolls had been laid out on the far side of the lantern from the water, and they would make sleeping on the uneven ground bearable for the two. Daphne remembered those things making enough difference for her to sleep but not actually making the ground comfortable, but she decided that, after the dungeon, she didn't particularly care.

They ate in silence for a while, then Daphne built up the courage to ask, "How did you know how to get me out? How come Granny sent you? Why did she call you 'your majesty'? Where are we going and why do you know how to get there?" The questions tumbled out of her in a rush, and she was almost embarrassed afterwards, but she was too curious to care.

Ms. White blinked at Daphne several times, then said, "Well, I can give you a basic answer to most of those questions all at once: I'm the true heir to the throne of Magica."

Daphne's eyes opened wide and she stopped chewing her food. "The princess?" she asked, dumbfounded. "But she's dead! The queen killed her! ...Or something..."

Ms. White shook her head. "My mother _tried_ to kill me, but I escaped. These tunnels are built by dwarves. Most of the capital city was built by dwarves, actually. I was friends with them, and they showed me around the castle. When my mother went insane, they helped me escape and sent me to Artisa. I was supposed to marry a prince from there."

Daphne let that sink in for a minute, turning it over in her mind, then, once she thought she had a handle on it, asked, "So... how come you didn't marry him?"

"My mother stopped me," Ms. White said softly.

"But... I thought she tried to kill you," Daphne said, brow furrowing. "That doesn't make sense."

"She was crazy, Daphne," Ms. White said. "She tried to kill me to save me from him."

Daphne was still confused, and it must have showed on her face, because even though she didn't say anything, Ms. White explained, "It turns out that the man I was supposed to marry, Atticus, was a sadist- someone who loves to inflict pain- and my mother found out. She decided to keep me from that in any way she could, which included poisoning me."

"Oh," Daphne said. "So where is he now?"

"She killed him," Ms. White said shortly.

Daphne bit her lip. "And then what happened?"

"I left," Ms. White said. "His brother wanted me to stay, but... well, I'd felt pretty helpless this whole time. I thought because I was a princess I would be safe my whole life. But I wasn't, and I never wanted to feel like that again. So I went to learn how to take care of myself. And then I went to Sneak, because I thought there I could be useful, and maybe there I could hide."

"Was it hard?" Daphne asked.

Ms. White nodded. "Very hard. When I came back and found out my whole family was dead- my brothers and sisters and my mother all gone, I didn't think I would ever be happy again. And so much had changed. Billy had gotten married three different times and was still married to the last woman, my kingdom wasn't a kingdom anymore, but ruled by a committee... I couldn't go home, and I couldn't go back to Artisa."

"Was Billy- _is_ Billy the man you were supposed to marry's brother?" Daphne asked.

Ms. White nodded again. "The king of Artisa, now. I suppose he's happy, even if he did break it off with the last wife."

"Granny knows who you are?" Daphne asked, taking another bit of her unnamed bread-meat-and cheese combination. The information had sunk in enough that she could eat again.

"She knew when she hired me to teach you and your sister," Ms. White said. "She may have known from the time I came to Sneak. Your grandmother may not be the optimal person to do fieldwork, but she's the best spymaster anybody could ask for. She'd make a wonderful queen if your sister couldn't manage it."

"I think Granny might know everybody's secret," Daphne said thoughtfully, after she swallowed her latest bite of food.

"Most likely," Ms. White agreed.

A realization coming to her, Daphne asked, "Does she know the Wolf's secret?"

"The captain of the guard? Most certainly," Ms. White said.

"Do _you _know it?" Daphne asked.

Ms. White shook her head. "No idea at all."

Daphne sighed. She'd finished her dinner, and she hadn't found out all the answers. She'd gotten more than she'd hoped for, though. She knew Ms. White's story, now. Most of it. Not quite enough, she realized, another cluster of questions coming to her.

"So we're going to Artisa?" she asked. "How come?"

"Billy owes me a favor," Ms. White said grimly. "Even if he never wants to see me again, he'll keep us safe in his kingdom until I can get you home. Artisa is a big enough force that Magica won't want to attack them just to get you, even if they know you're there. And nobody there will hurt us."

"Okay," Daphne said. "Should I call him Billy?"

Ms. White laughed and shook her head. "Call him William, or his highness, or Charming. He doesn't like Billy."

Daphne nodded, not pointing out that Ms. White was calling him Billy all over the place. "Ms. White?"

"Yes?" Ms. White asked. She'd finished her dinner, too, and was now moving around their campsite, securing things for the night.

"Red looks like she's my age. But she was there before the things with your family happened. How is that possible?"

Ms. White was silent for a while as she finished tying up the food and climbed into her bedroll. Daphne thought she wasn't going to answer, but then Ms. White said, "Red is... different. She... well, because of her mental issues, people have been using her for a very long time. Someone once used her to test out a spell to stop aging. It worked. It made her worse. Especially when her whole family died. She's not... stable."

"Oh," Daphne said softly. "I thought that maybe the rumors were true."

"What rumors?" Ms. White asked, her voice a bit sharp.

"The ones about Magicians," Daphne said, climbing into her own bedroll. "That they live longer than normal people do."

"That... that actually is true," Ms. White said. "People who practice magic regularly have longer lives than people who don't. I'm not that old, though. I haven't done more than ten spells since I left Magica, and that was over twenty years ago. I'm aging just like you are."

"Oh," Daphne said again. "So what makes her different?"

"Red _can't_ age," Ms. White said. "Not until someone finds a cure. And everyone who cares enough about her to look for one is dead. I feel bad for her, so I used to spend time with her. She must have remembered that. Otherwise I don't think she'd have let us pass."

"Do you think she'll tell people we came through?" Daphne asked.

"Maybe," Ms. White said. "But even if she did, they might not believe her. Or they'd think we died. Not many people can get past a Jabberwock."

"Well that's good," Daphne said. She paused, then asked, "Could Sabrina do it?"

Ms. White said wearily, "Go to sleep Daphne."

Daphne tried for a while, but she couldn't get the idea out of her head. "Could she?" she asked again, some minutes later.

"There's no way to know unless she runs into one herself," Ms. White said. "There's no simulation for fighting a monster like that. Now go to sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow."

* * *

><p>The journey was long and hard, and Daphne was very tired after it. Mostly, though, she was bored. There were only so many conversations she could start, and Ms. White wouldn't start any of her own. After that first night, she wouldn't even answer Daphne's questions well enough to satisfy her. Daphne spent the week asking questions, getting grunts or three-word sentences in reply, stumbling over rocks, and trying not to fall into the stream they'd slept beside their first night, which paralleled their winding tunnel. She got very tired of dried meat, bread, and cheese sandwiches.<p>

So when they emerged from the tunnel into sunlight at the end of the week, Daphne was ecstatic. At least, she was until she realized that they were in a very deep gorge with cliff walls rising almost straight up on all sides.

She groaned. "How are we going to get out of here?" she wailed.

"There's a path up in one of the other canyons," Ms. White said, and she walked off on the sand that edged the stream in this gorge.

Following, Daphne decided she was happy enough to be in the sunshine again that it didn't matter that they'd have to climb out of some enormous pit.

Six pits later, she wasn't so happy. Two of the pits hadn't had any sides at all, and she and Ms. White had had to swim through them, so she was soaked, and it was getting dark. "What is this place?" she asked, shaking water off the sleeves of her very bedraggled dress.

"The Tracks," Ms. White said.

"In Trickster?" Daphne asked, eyes widening. "Wow. Sabrina wrote to me about them." She was silent as she wrung out her skirt and followed Ms. White for a time, then she asked, "How many more do we have to get through to get out?"

"Seven," Ms. White said. "We should be out by tomorrow. But we're camping here tonight- the next few don't have any beaches, and this one has an overhang, in case people are looking for us." She nodded to the side of the heavily shadowed canyon, where, sure enough, there was an overhang in the sandstone.

Daphne followed Ms. White under the orange-brown striped side of the wall, and the two began to set up camp. The first thing Daphne did once the fire was started was take off her still dripping dress and wrap herself in one of the blankets that had, thankfully, been secured in Ms. White's bag. The bag was made of oilcloth, so their things had stayed dry, for the most part, and Daphne could work to repair her clothes a little while they rested.

Her repairs weren't very good. By the time she'd let the skirt dry out, it was fully dark, but the moon, which was nearly full, was visible overhead, so she decided to work on her skirt then, because she couldn't fall asleep in that brightness anyway, and she might as well do something useful. Still, she wasn't a very good seamstress in the brightest light, let alone when she couldn't see clearly. Once she'd finished sewing up all the biggest rips, her skirt had several odd bunches, and the hem, which now hung at varying heights in accidental pleats, was inches shorter than it had been when she began.

Oh well. At least she wasn't completely scandalous now. She might look ridiculous, but it was the kind of ridiculous that could still be seen in public.

Nevertheless, she decided to leave the smaller rips alone. Her dress had had enough trauma.

Besides, the moon had almost passed to the other side of the gorge's edge, and it was now dark enough that she could sleep. She curled up on the ground, wrapping her bedroll more tightly around herself, and fell asleep next to the already snoring Ms. White.

The next morning, Ms. White woke her far too early, and Daphne rolled out of her messy blanket, ending up groaning on the sand. If only she'd been able to fall asleep sooner. She pulled on her dress, which looked even worse in the daylight, and helped pack up camp, eating another roll. She was sick of half-stale bread and dried meat. She wanted some fruit. An apple, maybe.

That day was long and arduous. Daphne and Ms. White swam through the next three canyons, walked through one, climbed around the outside edge of another, swam through yet another, and emerged, finally, in the last gorge they would be in. This one actually had grass in it, and the river they'd been following was reduced to a narrow stream. Coming down the right side, which Daphne decided must be the eastern edge, was a small, narrow track that wound back and forth along the wall. It looked very dangerous, like something more fit for goats than people. Very nimble goats.

"We have to go up that?" she said, crestfallen.

Ms. White nodded. She glanced at Daphne and said sympathetically, "How about we stop for lunch first?"

"That would be good," Daphne agreed. Even stale biscuits were better than climbing that ledge. Besides, once they started, there would be no stopping.

While they ate, Ms. White said, "I'm sorry I've been so uptight this trip, Daphne. It's nothing you've done. I'm just... tense."

"It's all right," Daphne assured her. She thought she understood, after hearing Ms. White's story. And now that she'd apologized everything was good.

They finished lunch and readied themselves for the climb. Daphne noticed, as she tied her lumpy skirt back away from her legs, that Ms. White was visibly nervous. She wasn't sure if it was the cliff they'd be scaling or the fact that as soon as they got to the top, they'd be in Artisa, a country Ms. White had almost been queen of. Ms. White had never exactly said that she might have been queen there, but Daphne wasn't thick. She'd put two and two together and was almost positive she'd come up with the right answer.

They scaled the cliff. It was every bit as hard as Daphne had thought it would be. The sandstone was crumbly, and almost broke when she stepped on it a few times. At its thickest, the winding ledge they were walking on was a little over a foot wide. At its narrowest, Daphne's foot was wider than it was, and she had to cling desperately to the wall to keep from falling off. Some places, the trail was so steep she and Ms. White were practically climbing straight up the face of it to get to a place where it would flatten out again. There was nowhere they could sit down, nowhere even that the could really lean against the wall and catch their breath safely, though they did make do a few desperate times. It was dark again by the time they made it to the top, collapsing exhausted on the ground above the Tracks.

Daphne was extremely grateful to be out and on regular ground again. The Tracks were gorgeous, she'd admit that readily, but she'd be perfectly content to never see them again. They were too deep, too hard to navigate between, and not nearly safe enough to make it worth it.

Ms. White rolled over onto her stomach with a groan and muttered, "We should probably set up camp."

"Can't we just sleep here?" Daphne begged.

Ms. White shook her head and said, "I don't want either of us to roll over in our sleep and fall back down there."

If Daphne had had more energy, she would have made a joke about not wanting to climb all that way again after the work she'd just done. Instead, she pushed herself up again, fighting the shaking muscles in her arms and legs to rise first to a sitting position, then a stand. She steadied herself as Ms. White stood, too, and the two stumbled off to look for a suitable place to make camp.

"I'd hoped to get to an inn tonight," Ms. White told Daphne as they walked, "But it took longer to get up than I thought it would."

"Sorry," Daphne apologized.

Ms. White shook her head. "Not your fault," she assured her. "It's been years since I made that climb, it was steeper than I remembered."

They didn't make camp, really. They unrolled their blankets and climbed into them, eating the last of their meat and cheese and almost all of their bread in the dark in their beds. Even the full moon didn't keep Daphne up that night. She was asleep by the time Ms. White finished eating.

The next day they began walking through Artisa. They past an inn around midmorning, and Daphne decided she was glad they hadn't tried to get to it the night before. It was two hours' walk away, and she'd probably have collapsed before they got there.

She was very conscious of her odd clothing and messy hair as they walked, but Ms. White wouldn't stop and buy anything. She'd only brought a little money, she said, and that had to be used for food and beds, not clothes. They would get her something new when they made it to the capital city. Daphne gave in without mugh fight, though she was very embarrassed.

It took them five days of walking to make it to Artisa's capital. It was a pleasant walk. Artisa in summer was a beautiful place, and Daphne was glad to be there. Her bad memories from her schooling there faded a little in comparison to these happy people, all going proudly about their work. She decided that it was likely that only some of the people were bad like the ones who had fostered her. And with the things they made, it was hard to begrudge these people anything. They were amazing, and the closer they got to the capital city, the more skill Daphne saw.

Finally, they made it to the castle, and after Snow spoke to the guards, they were let in to see the king.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ It's a bit longer than most of the other chapters, to make up for the wait and because it was the best spot to end it. Next chapter will probably be about Puck and Sabrina, since I'm trying to be a little more chronological than I was before.<br>**

**Feature: "Enemies only Not Really" by Thats My Name  
><strong>One of those rare Puckabrina fics that I like. It's adorable, makes me happy, and ought to be read.

**Some Review Replies:**

Guest: **I did. I said the latest I would update would be the sixteenth. I guess that does imply that I might update sooner, but I never really planned to, because I had two papers, two portfolios, one project, and three finals to do within the space of a week. And that week was last week. Sorry about that. I'm glad you like it, though!**

Silver Shadows: **If you kill me I'll never update again. Just saying. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW HOW IT ENDS. I think I win.**

SilSha: **Well, that's interesting. You can't win that QotU for two reasons, though: First, it's closed. Second, you have to say something about the chapter to be eligible.**

crazy: **Glad you like it. I had finals. They're over now. Updates will resume on schedule now, hopefully.**

crazy person: **I'm not stopping the story. I just needed a finals break.**

AlyssaHockey36: **Well a way to fix that would be to remove it, see?**


	27. Tidings of War

**AN~ Just on time. I wrote most of this in two days because I was procrastinating, but it's done now.  
><strong>

QotU: Favorite kind of weather and why?

**Old QotU Winner: SilSha, who I'm pretty sure is Silver Shadows, yes?  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Sabrina hated Puck. That was all there was to it. She hated him.<p>

They'd been stuck together for three weeks five days, nine hours, forty-one minutes, and eighteen seconds (nineteen seconds. Twenty seconds), and he wasn't even acting sorry. She'd spent most of the time glaring silently at him, when she wasn't screaming at him or hurting him. She hadn't even left the palace. It was too embarrassing. And Granny wouldn't even let her near a lockpick. It had been a very miserable three weeks.

Jonas had tried to help, and he'd made things a little bit better, but there would be no better until she was free of this thing tying her to Puck. And there would be no getting free of the thing until Granny was sure she wouldn't run off after Daphne. That wouldn't happen until they knew Daphne was safe and sound, Sabrina was sure of it. She wasn't even sure herself that she wouldn't go running off after Ms. White if they let her go now.

That made it worse, that they were right. That they were _justified_ in doing this. It was humiliating, and she hated them all for it. Having to go everywhere with Puck was not how she'd have wanted to spend even one day, let alone three weeks.

She gave out another monstrous sigh and sent Puck a death glare.

"Would you stop that?" he asked. "That's the fifth time in an hour! I was just doing what your grandma asked! Take it up with her!"

"She did _not_ ask you to attach yourself to me," Sabrina said. They'd had this conversation before. She didn't care. Maybe if she got boring or annoying enough, he'd unlock them himself.

"No, but she told me to keep you here however I had to. And I did that."

"I wish you'd, I don't know, tied me to my bed, or something," Sabrina muttered. She glared at him again. She wished she had a way to turn her eyes into daggers. Then she'd be free.

"No you don't," Puck said complacently.

That was true. She didn't, really. But she wasn't going to admit it.

The two were sitting in Sabrina's room eating lunch, the way they had for the past three weeks. They'd actually spent most of the three weeks in Sabrina's room. She'd hung a sheet up between the two sides of her bed to give herself some privacy, and the seamstress had outfitted a few of her dresses so that the sleeves could be unbuttoned and Sabrina could undress, safely hidden from Puck behind a screen. Puck didn't bother to change his clothes. Jonas came and kept them company sometimes, but today he was out getting lessons on something sneaky, so the duo was alone.

Sabrina tried to be alone with Puck as rarely as possible.

In fact, she'd managed to be alone with him only seventeen hours this past three weeks. She didn't care if they were engaged. She didn't want people thinking... that. Besides, she was too mad at him to want to be alone with him even without that dynamic.

She was too mad at him to want to be with him at all. That, though, was unavoidable. He'd made sure of that. She couldn't even relieve herself without having him five feet away!

She glared at him again.

He ignored her.

She glared harder.

He still ignored her.

This was pointless. She knew that. He'd gotten a lot better at ignoring her glares recently. But she had nothing better to do, and no distractions from her predicament. She could almost have a good time when she had something to distract her. Something like-

The door burst open, and a servant in rumpled clothes ran in, panting.

Something like that, actually.

She pushed aside her lunch (it wasn't that good anyway) and stood up, trying to walk towards the servant. Puck hadn't stopped eating, though, so she only made it about three steps forward. She gave him another glare and gave her arm a futile tug, then turned to the servant and asked, "What is it?"

"Messenger," the servant panted, "in the- in the courtyard. From Magica. Important. Regent says- to get you- now. Quickly."

Sabrina yanked at Puck, sending his face tumbling into his food, and almost knocking the table over as she rushed for the door, nodding at the servant as she went. She ran to the courtyard, dragging Puck behind her as he stumbled after her and picked food from his clothes, popping the bits into his mouth. She shook her head in disgust and ran faster, skirt billowing behind her.

Once they'd wound their way through the many small twisty corridors that led from Sabrina's room to the main courtyard, they burst into bright sunlight and nearly ran into the backs of several guards. Sabrina pulled herself up short, stopping in time, but Puck threw her off as he tumbled into a particularly large guard in purple livery. Sabrina fell on top of him, and the three almost fell over. They were saved from a domino trail of soldiers, though, by the bulk of the guard, who gave them a very intense glare.

Sabrina, recognizing the guard's outfit as that of a Magician warrior, pulled Puck upright again with wide eyes. She gave him a very royal apology and then worked her way through the crowd with as much dignity as she could muster. It wasn't enough, really. She was still hooked to Puck at the wrist, and he wasn't the kind of person one wanted to be attached to if one was going to be acting distinguished. Still, she made her way to Granny and stopped next to her, looking down her nose at the emissary from Magica, a tall, thin man with a greenish tint to his skin.

Looking down her nose at someone who was as tall or taller than she was was a trick she'd learned from Snow, and it had come in very useful to her more times than once.

"Oh, Sabrina, good, there you are," Granny said, and Sabrina was a bit taken aback by the relief in her tone. "Now we can get on with things."

The emissary, looking only mildly cowed by her glare (it _was_ that Puck was getting used to it! She hadn't lost her touch!), cleared his throat and said, "Yes. Do I have permission to announce the message to all present, Your Majesty, High Regent?"

Sabrina looked over at her grandmother, ready to take her cue from her. The old woman bit her lip, but nodded almost imperceptibly, gesturing forward with one hand. Sabrina turned back to the man and said, "Permission granted. Go on."

The emissary nodded, and unfurled a scroll that he'd been holding in one hand. He held it up to his face and read off in a loud voice, "The Princess Daphne of Sneak was recently arrested for violating the conditions by which she would be allowed to visit the grand nation of Magica. This ended the peace talks between our two countries, returning them to their former unstable state. However, this state has now been broken. Daphne Grimm disappeared from her prison cell with no trace, within days of her arrest. Circumstances being as they are, we are forced to conclude that someone from Sneak, or an ally thereof, extracted her and has brought her to her home country. The result is thus: We, Magica, demand that Daphne Grimm be returned to us, as is our right, within twenty-four hours of the reading of this message. Until this has been carried out, no Sneaks will be welcome within the borders of Magica. Any found there will be placed immediately under arrest. If the desired prisoner is not brought fourth within the specified time period, Magica will be forced to declare war on Sneak and all her allies." He paused, bowed to the crowd in the courtyard (mostly other Magician guards, but also several Sneaks), and said, "Thank you for your time."

Sabrina wasn't shocked. She was relieved- Daphne was free- and she was worried, but she wasn't surprised. She was impressed too, actually. The Magicians had worked this out incredibly. Now any war would look to be Sneak's fault from outside. And with Sabrina and Puck engaged, they had the perfect excuse to invade Trickster, too. They'd played right into the enemy's hands.

She glanced at her grandmother. By the expression on her face, it was evident both that Relda Grimm had already heard the message, and that she knew all the things Sabrina had just seen.

"You're dismissed," Sabrina told the emissary, doing her best to sound haughty and not worried. She thought she'd done a pretty good job. "We shall provide you with a place to stay while you wait for our reply."

The tall man, looking very put out because she hadn't reacted more to his message, nodded and bowed, backing away as he did so.

Sabrina and Relda walked off in the opposite direction, pulling Puck with them. They were headed for one of the slightly less private council rooms, a bigger one. It was located on a back corner of the second floor, where it butted against an outcropping of the cliff wall behind the castle. The room easily held twenty people, but there were hiding places everywhere for more people to listen in. Sabrina didn't mind, this time. This was important. This affected everybody. They had a right to know.

When she got to the council room of choice, Sabrina was surprised to see that it was already almost full. The Wolf was there, as well as Cinderella and a few others from the delegation to Magica, Jonas, and the most important of the other council members, excluding Snow. Jonas was probably the most unlikely addition to the party. She hadn't known that the ones who'd gone to Magica were back, but she hadn't quite expected to know, what with the mood she'd been in.

Sabrina took a seat at the head of the table, forcing Puck into the seat catty-corner to hers, and her grandmother sat down at the opposite end of the table. Everyone grew quiet.

"Well," Relda said, "I expect we all know why we're here. Shall we begin?"

"They want Daphne," Sabrina told Cinderella, who she assumed hadn't heard. Judging by the woman's expression, she'd assumed right. "They say unless we give her back in two days, they'll declare war."

"We should give her to them, then," Arthur, one of the lords, said. "We're not ready for war. Until we can prepare-"

"No!" Sabrina protested loudly, slamming the hand that wasn't attached to Puck down onto the table. "We can't-"

Arthur tried to cut her off, but Sabrina shouted louder over him. Other people burst in with their own arguments until it was a full-out shouting match across the table, half of the people arguing for keeping Daphne safe, and the other half arguing to turn her over to the Magicians to save everyone else.

Finally, Granny yelled over everyone, in a voice that shut everything down immediately, "_QUIET__!"_

Dead silence fell over the room. Sabrina, who had been half standing to get closer to Arthur, very slowly lowered herself back into her seat, eyes wide. Several other people did the same thing.

Relda waited a moment and then said, "Thank you. Now, first of all, we are not going to be sacrificing anyone for the greater good." She put a hand up, silencing Arthur's protest before he could do more than open his mouth. "This is both because I find that very often 'for the greater good' means 'for my good,' and doesn't end up helping anyone very much at all, and partly because we _cannot_ return Daphne. The reason for this is simple: we don't have her. I don't even know where she is. When Snow left, she didn't tell me where she was going, for good reason."

Sabrina sat back further in her chair, actually relaxing a bit now. Daphne was safe.

"We are here to discuss our reply to the Magicians and our next course of action," Relda continued, "_not_ whether or not we'll be turning an eleven-year-old girl over to a group of people who would like nothing better than to destroy her."

Arthur looked suitably cowed and said, "Very well. What can we do, then? They're not going to take 'we don't have her' for an answer."

"We shall have to go to war," Relda said. "We all knew that was a likely possibility, and we've prepared for it."

"We can't!" Arthur protested, eyes widening. "We'll be slaughtered!"

"We won't," Relda said. "We will suffer, yes, but we have allies, and-"

"Our biggest 'ally' is a country full of half-trained lackwits!" Arthur snapped.

"Actually," Jonas cut in quietly. Everyone turned to look at him, and Sabrina was pretty sure they'd forgotten he was there. He blinked at them all and continued, "They're doing quite well. My father was a northern raider before he moved to Trickster, and he says that he's surprised by how well they're learning."

Relda nodded. "I've received similar news from Titania, and from the people we sent to train them. The Tricksters may not be as fully trained as we are, but they are ingenious, and quick learners, and they don't have a hatred of using magic the way Sneaks do. It is a valuable alliance. With them, we have a chance to last out this war."

"A slim chance," Arthur muttered.

Relda nodded again. "It was always a slim chance."

Sabrina turned back to Cinderella. "Could you write up a response?" she asked her. "Tell them that we can't provide Daphne because we do not have her, we're very sorry or something, and that we don't want a war? Make it all diplomatic and stuff?"

Cinderella nodded. "I most certainly can. Now, or after the meeting is over?"

Sabrina looked at her grandmother quizzically.

Relda thought, then said, "You may as well go now, unless you feel you have anything vital to add?"

Cinderella shook her head and said, "The Wolf knows everything I do about Magica."

"Go, then," Sabrina said. "The sooner, the better."

Cinderella left the conference room. On her way out, she almost tripped over a child who'd been leaning against the door. Sabrina shook her head as the child picked itself up, flushing. _Amateur_.

"So we're on to battle plans, is that it?" Sabrina asked, looking around at the people who were left.

"So it would appear," Relda agreed. "We ought to wait for Titania before we finalize anything, though. If I send a messenger bird, she ought to be able to be here before things get too bad. Then we can plan."

Sabrina swallowed a sigh. And here she'd been hoping that she could actually _do_ something. But no, of course not. More waiting.

"So what _can_ we do today?" Puck asked, sounding just as put out as Sabrina felt.

"We can decide what we're going to tell everyone else," Relda said, "And who's going to tell them, and who we want here helping make decisions versus who we want out in the field."

Puck made a face. "Sounds boring."

Honestly, Sabrina agreed with him. It did sound boring. Very boring. But it was a royal duty, and this was the first war she'd been in. She couldn't leave in the middle of planning and let her grandmother take care of it, not if she wanted to be a good queen.

And if she had to stay, so did Puck. It served him right for that thing with the cuffs.

So the two sat through the whole meeting. Sabrina mostly listened to other people's ideas and chose between them. Three years ago, she'd have done nothing of the kind. She'd have picked who she thought was best, or better yet, sent herself out to do everything, without listening to a word of anyone else's advice. She'd learned from those mistakes, though, and after several things blew up in her face, she was ready, now, to listen to other people's ideas. Most of them were pretty good, too. Arthur was still being difficult, but the Wolf, in particular, and her grandmother, had some excellent suggestions.

After they'd decided on a course of action as best they could without Titania's input, most people left. Sabrina, though, as well as Puck and Jonas and the Wolf, stayed behind at a motion from Relda. Once everyone else had gone, the five sat down closer together, clustered at one end of the conference room.

"What is it?" Sabrina asked Granny, noticing the tight look on her face.

Relda looked at her granddaughter closely and said, "Sabrina- if things get too bad-"

"What?" Sabrina asked, because Relda had stopped herself, and looked like she might not continue without prompting.

Granny took a deep breath and said, "If they get too bad, if it looks like you'll be in any danger-" she halted again, then started, "I want you to leave."

"_What_?" Sabrina yelped, almost jumping up again. "What do you mean you want me to leave?"

"I want you to take the tunnels and get out of here," Relda repeated, voice steady now and no longer quavering or halting. "If things get bad, take Puck and Jonas, find whatever supplies you can grab, and go someplace safe."

Sabrina shook her head, setting her jaw stubbornly. "I'm not leaving. I'm the queen, I can't just run. I should be leading these people. What will they think if I abandon them?"

"You're barely sixteen years old," Relda said. "I may be your regent, but I'm also your guardian, and I want you to be safe. They'll understand. You wouldn't be at the forefront anyway. You'd be here, in the palace, directing from here. I can do that just as well, and if the palace gets attacked, it's more important that you stay alive to fight another day than that you lead your people. If you're dead, you can't lead them any better. And if that happens, the next person in line for the throne is Daphne, and she's-" Relda paused, letting the implications sink in, and said, "Magica will use that. If you die it'll be an enormous victory for them."

Everything about this screamed of wrongness to Sabrina. She shouldn't leave, shouldn't run. A captain always went down with his ship, and she should go down with her castle. But she understood what her grandmother was saying. If Sneak lost its ruler again, in the middle of a crisis, they'd be thrown into chaos, and Magica could come in and either fill the void of power or strike a particularly strong blow to the nation. And even with Daphne as next in line for the throne... Daphne was almost as young as Sabrina had been when she'd taken the throne, but she had an entirely different temperament, and the Sneaks wouldn't follow her as easily as they did Sabrina.

She sighed, giving in to logic. "Fine," she said. "I'll do it."

Granny looked very relieved and a little bit surprised. "Good," she said. "Now, I'm not saying it'll come to that. This is only if they attack the palace and get in."

Sabrina nodded. "I understand."

Relda leaned over the table and kissed Sabrina on the forehead. "I love you, _liebling._ I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

"I love you, too, Granny," Sabrina said. "But I'll be fine. There are plenty of bolt holes in this place."

"I know," Relda said, "I just worry, that's all."

"I'll be okay, I promise," Sabrina said. "If it comes to that, I'll get all of us out of here."

Relda smiled, looking relieved.

"Hey, not to interrupt your gushy love-fest or anything," Puck broke in, "but I've got a question."

"What's that, Puck?" Relda asked, turning along with Sabrina to look over at the Trickster King, who had effectively broken the mood.

"Since Daphne's safe and all, do you think it'd be okay if Sabrina and I got unattached?" Puck asked. "She seems reasonable now, and I really can't stand being stuck to her like this."

Relda laughed and said, "Yes, Puck, I think it's safe to detach you two."

Sabrina almost ran for the lockpicks, she was so excited.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ There. More Puck and Sabrina. You should all be happy now.<br>**

**Feature: "The Depths of Her Heart" by SugarHighQueen44  
><strong>A bunch of introspective oneshot-type things that focus on Sabrina. Go read them, please.

**Some Review Replies:**

Chicky: **I will tell you what I tell everyone who asks for Puckabrina anywhere ever: I do a lot more subtle stuff than outright mushy gushy stuff, and I've got a plan for when they will get together that you'll just have to wait for. They like each other, they know they like each other, and that's about all you're getting 'til I reach the point where they confess.**

Guest 1: **Yes I did. :) A whole day early. The next update will probably still be next Thursday, though.**

Guest 2: **Geesh. I had like ten chapters in a row about Sabrina and Puck. Daphne's only ever gotten TWO in a row.**

SilSha: **QotD: WHY? Chapter: Geez, I can't win. When I'm writing about Puck and Sabrina everyone goes 'when are we getting back to Daphne?' and now that I'm writing about Daphne you're going 'I want Puck and Sabrina!'**


	28. Invasion

**AN~ Holy crap, guys! I'm number ten in the top number of reviews in the whole category! That's saying something! Holy- MAN, thanks so much! I'd hug you all if I could.  
><strong>

QotU: That being said, why am I getting less reviews now than I have been since before my hiatus? Is it because I left, or it is a sitewide thing having to do with the approach of summer? The most rational answer wins.

**Old QotU Winner: SilSha, who had a cool answer.  
><strong>

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><p>Titania was supposed to arrive today. Actually, Sabrina was pretty sure she'd been scheduled to be there two days ago, but nobody was saying anything about that. It was just her grandmother's worried looks that fed her suspicion.<p>

She'd been learning a lot about war these last few days. It was boring, for one thing. Boring and tense by turns. They were depending on letters from people at the edge of things to learn about the battle, and between letters there was nothing to do but sit and wait. Sabrina's heart broke a little with each death she heard about, though she didn't show anyone. She was a queen. She had to be strong.

There hadn't been any real battles yet, just small skirmishes. The army of Magica was still marching towards the border of Sneak, for the most part, and because they couldn't cross it easily, they were waiting there. The Sneaks were just trying to keep their journey from being too easy. Small fights over the border were the only battles so far, but they'd lost some people already.

She wanted to go out and fight, wanted it so much her breath caught in her throat and she clenched her fists so tight her nails dug into her palms and left red lines on them when she worked her fingers back open. But no, her job was to sit with her grandmother and listen to the messengers and the generals advise people. Even Puck got to do something!

Puck had been put in charge of defenses for the castle, and designing traps for the Sneaks on the battlefield to use. He was loving his job, and had tested some of his new inventions on Sabrina.

They worked.

She'd mostly forgiven him for linking them together, now that they were loose again, but those traps- Well, she wasn't too happy with him, to say the least. She missed the camaraderie they'd developed over the tour of Sneak. Back then, she'd almost thought that it might not be too bad to marry him. Now, though, he was as bad as he'd been when they first met, and she was pretty sure he was working so hard just to make sure this war got finished before either of them were eighteen, so they could cut the marriage off.

Right now, she thought she might want that, too.

Still, she'd miss him... Those eyes, not really blue or green, shifting between the colors like a mystery she needed to solve; his crooked smile with teeth that were ridiculously white, considering his eating habits; the way he actually liked Sneak food; his fingers drumming on something when he was nervous or uncomfortable-

She cut herself off. There was no point in thinking like that. He most certainly wasn't in love with her, and any marriage between them was bound to go horribly wrong. She'd hate to marry him and be the only one who wanted it. Better to finish this and go back to Bradley. He was nice enough, and he still wanted her, it was obvious. Then Puck could go off and do his own thing.

First they had to win the war, though.

And they couldn't start really doing that until Titania arrived.

She sighed and slid down against the wall of the training room she'd been leaning on. The training room of the castle was a big open space with lines painted on the floor in rectangles or circles or just crosspieces, to mark places for people to perform different exercises. In one corner there was a stack of mats for rough exercises, and along the back wall there were racks of practice weapons and protective gear. The short wall next to that had dummies and targets for single-practice use. The room was normally dominated by Snow, but since she'd left, people had just been coming in to train on their own, without keeping to a schedule.

Right now she was the only one in the room- most people were using the city's public training room or the school's, both of which had people to coach and egg on the practitioners. She'd already destroyed one practice dummy and worked herself until she could shoot an arrow at any target from however far away she wanted and hit at least close enough to the bullseye that she'd do some damage, if not make it to the actual center. What she wanted was to actually fight someone. Even just a sparring match would be enough, though she'd like to kick some Magica behind into the afterlife.

The door swung open, and Jonas came in. He was wearing a heavy set of practice armor over a suit of clothes the color of mottled bricks. He'd been training.

"Where have you been?" Sabrina demanded, pushing herself back up into a standing position. "I looked all over the palace for you!"

"I was at school," Jonas said, not rising to her itch for a fight. "I'm almost ready to move up to a class for nine-year-olds!"

"Congratulations," Sabrina said sarcastically. "What are they going to do when you're ready to move on to stage two and learn about careers? They can't exactly send you to Artisa when we're in the middle of a war."

Jonas shrugged and said, "I dunno, maybe I'll skip that."

Sabrina snorted.

Jonas sighed and said, "Sabrina, if you want to spar, just tell me."

"Yes, I want to spar!" Sabrina snapped. "I've been itching for a fight all day, but everyone is avoiding me!"

"That's because you're scary," Jonas said. He put up a hand before Sabrina could give him a retort and said, "I'll fight you. Just let me put on some lighter padding."

Sabrina gave him a chilly, excited smile, then headed with him to the training gear. This was going to be fun.

They'd just begun to fight, and Sabrina was swinging her practice sword down at Jonas' knee, when the door burst open and a servant came running in, panting, a large red gash in his shirt dripping on the floor.

Hit with a sense of deja vu, Sabrina lowered her sword and turned to the man, demanding, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Magicians attacking," the man said with a gasp. "Coming for- you!"

"Oh no," Sabrina said, a sense of dread overwhelming her. "Not now, not this soon. You have to be wrong."

The man shook his head. "Run," he whispered. He held a hand to his side, covering the gash, and Sabrina realized what it was: blood.

"We have to get him someplace safe," Sabrina said, pulling off her padding and ripping it open with the sword. She converted the padding into strips faster than she thought she knew how, and yanked the man's tunic up. She hissed when she saw the wound, a bubbling gash that showed a black streak of rib- this was no sword wound, this was from magic. She fought past the urge to let her lunch loose into the world again and began wrapping her newly-made bandages around the man's waist, packing the wool from the center of her padding in between layers of bandaging to stop the blood.

"Where?" Jonas asked, his voice shrill. "If they're attacking the palace-"

"There are more bolt holes in this place than there are bubbles in Swiss Cheese," Sabrina said, not looking up from her work. "You want to be a Sneak, find one. I'll get us to a healer from there."

"Where?" Jonas asked. "Through the city? That won't be safe, either-"

"I'll make us safe," Sabrina said, and her voice was so intense that she scared herself, a little. "If you can't find us a way out, at least find Puck. He can help me get him out of here, and I can take us straight to the tunnels."

Jonas gulped, then nodded, running for the door. Sabrina watched him for a second, then turned back to the servant. He was youngish, one of the students on his last legs of training, by the looks of things. Handsome enough, with a dark complexion and thick, curly hair over a round face. His breath was coming shallow, and he looked pale under his brown skin.

"You're going to be all right," she promised him. "What's your name?"

He shook his head, gasping.

He couldn't speak. That was a bad sign. He might be getting poisoned from the inside. She needed a way to stop the spread of the injury, a way to- No. She couldn't do anything. She could barely even get his wound closed.

The door opened again with a slam, and Jonas came back in, panting, with Puck in tow.

"It's insane out there," Jonas said between gasps. "They're everywhere. I don't see how they got in so fast, without anyone noticing. I don't- I'm not sure we can get out."

Puck didn't say anything. Normally that would have struck Sabrina as odd, but at the moment she was a bit busy trying to keep this man alive.

"Help me get him upright," Sabrina told Puck and Jonas. Turning back to the man, she asked, "Can you walk, you think? If we help you?" He was fading so fast. He'd been able to run a few minutes ago, and now he couldn't even talk.

The young man nodded, still gasping. Sabrina gave him a tight smile and began lifting him. Puck and Jonas surged forward to help, and they lifted him to a standing position, then limped their way to the door. Sabrina disentangled herself from the servant and told Puck and Jonas to stay put while she scouted ahead.

She poked her head out the door, making sure there was nobody else around. The corridor was empty, but she could hear the buzzing sound of magic growing louder and softer in the next hall over, and the clang of swords hitting each other or rocks. Occasionally there was a burst of light, or a scream, or a grunt, or the sickening sound of tearing flesh. She could smell blood and burning.

All right, so taking that passageway was out. Were there any secret passages in this hall?

She tried to think. The training room wasn't someplace she had to sneak to very often, so she wasn't as well acquainted with the secret ways there as she was with the ones to, say, the kitchen. But there was a statue in an alcove right at the T where her passage met the dangerous one, and that particular statue looked very superfluous, unless it was hiding something. The fact that there were no other doors on this passage made her think she was right.

She would take a look. If it turned out not to be something she could use, they could always take the windows out. It would be difficult with an injured person, but they could probably manage.

She tiptoed her way forward towards the statue, which was of a ridiculously dressed girl pouring water onto a bunch of rocks. Completely pointless, and it made Sabrina feel particularly glad that she was wearing a practical dress, simple and grayish brown with a thick leather bust that she'd placed some heavy twine and two small knives into. Much better for running around in than that voluminous mass of ribbons the stone girl was wearing.

She pulled out one of the small knives now, cursing herself for not grabbing the practice sword when she'd left the training room, and crept closer to the statue. There was a deep alcove behind it, and she was almost positive she saw a small rock in the statue that could be pressed down and open a passage behind it. The problem was that to get into the passage they'd have to go into the other passage, and she was feeling exposed enough right where she was.

They could do it. Maybe.

She turned to head back to the training room, and took two steps towards it, when someone stumbled past her, arms flailing. As the man went by, his eyes opened wide, locking in on Sabrina.

"Dangit," she muttered.

She turned back and ran for the door to the training room, not worried about being quiet any longer. That man did not look like a Sneak.

She burst through the door, as it seemed was becoming a popular thing to do today, and said, "We'll have to take the windows out."

"What?" Puck and Jonas demanded simultaneously.

"You heard me," Sabrina said, leaning hard against the door and pulling the twine out of her dress. "There are too many people in the hall- one of them saw me. We have to go out through the window."

"They _saw you_?" Jonas hissed. "Aren't you supposed to be one of the best Sneaks out there?"

"Oh, like you could have done any better," Sabrina snapped. "Just take the rope and go down."

"That's not a rope," Puck said, looking doubtfully at it. "That's a string."

The door bucked against Sabrina's back, and she pressed herself harder against it. "I don't care, just go!" she hissed. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

Puck grabbed the twine, and he and Jonas walked off, the servant still between them. Sabrina watched them until they were on the ledge beneath the window, then she grinned and ran away from the door, grabbing her practice sword from the floor. Finally, she'd get to fight someone.

* * *

><p>Puck and Jonas crept their way across the ledge six feet below the window, keeping the servant between them. They'd thought about climbing down, but the drop was too far, and there were people fighting in the courtyard, so they were working their way to a gradually sloped rooftop about fifty yards away and four feet down. It was safer there, and since Sabrina was obviously not coming any time soon, they could wait there.<p>

"What are we going to do?" Jonas hissed at Puck, shoving the groaning servant man back against the wall when he threatened to crumble.

Puck shrugged, hoisting the man up so that his arm was tight around Puck's shoulder. He didn't say anything.

It took them way too long to make it to the rooftop, and by the time they got there, the servant man was practically passed out. They laid him on the shingles, and he rolled a few feet, then stopped. Puck and Jonas, too, laid back against the hot black slates. There was no way they were making it out of this.

He wasn't even sure Sabrina could make it out of this. Or that she could make it _to_ this point. What if she-

There was no point thinking about that.

How had they gotten in, though? That was the question. He'd set up all sorts of things to keep anyone from making it into the palace without sounding alarms. Nobody should have been able to get in. He'd made sure of that.

At least, he'd _thought_ he'd made sure of it.

He must have- No he couldn't have. But there was no other solution. He must have-

"Sabrina!" Jonas hissed.

Puck's head snapped around. Sabrina was climbing out of the window, looking bedraggled but very much alive. He saw some red blotches on her, and his heart tensed up, but she was moving normally. His muscles loosened and he almost collapsed on the too-hot roof again. She was alive. Thank the heavens.

She wasn't turning towards Jonas' voice, though. She looked like she was getting ready to climb down to the courtyard, actually.

That would be a very bad thing.

"Sabrina!" Jonas called again, much louder this time.

She heard. Her head whipped around and she gave a big smile when she saw them- much bigger and more relieved than Puck would have expected.

Unfortunately, several people in the courtyard heard, too, and they all looked up at the roof.

"Shoot," Puck muttered, eyes widening.

"Run!" Sabrina shrieked at them, not bothering to be quiet. She started shimmying across the ledge as fast as she could.

Puck and Jonas tried to take her advice, but it was hard when they were carrying an unconscious man and scrambling up a smooth incline. They made it across the roof to the back side around the same time Sabrina did, sending a flurry of tiles down to the ground below.

"Now what?" Jonas asked.

"Now we make for the tunnels," Sabrina said grimly.

"Where?" Jonas asked.

Sabrina nodded across the roof, and Puck and Jonas looked where she was pointing. The back side of this roof led fell onto an alleyway. Behind that alleyway was a thick castle wall, and not twenty feet beyond that were the tall cliffs that were the border of Sneak. Puck could see the crags that were the entrances to the tunnels from here. They just had to get there.

"How many people can you carry flying?" Sabrina asked.

"Two, at most," Puck said, understanding her plan. If he could fly them, they could make it to the tunnels. They _would _survive! "And they'd have to be light people."

"You'll have to make two trips, then," Sabrina said grimly. "Is that okay? It's putting you in more danger. Someone could see you."

"Of course it's okay," Puck said. After all, if this was his fault, he ought to do everything he could to get them out. He should fly every single Sneak in this city to safety.

"No you won't have to," Jonas said grimly.

Sabrina and Puck turned to stare at Jonas.

"Why not?" Sabrina asked.

Jonas took a deep breath and said, "I'm staying here."

"You can't!" Sabrina protested. "You're just a kid, you've barely had any training, you'll-"

"There are kids younger than me out there right now," Jonas said. "I'm doing better than anyone thought I would at training. They need all the help I can get." He looked at them both imploringly. "I ran away from one country. Now I've found one worth fighting for. Let me prove it."

Sabrina glared at him and whispered, "I should knock you out and drag you along with me."

"You don't have time to do that," Jonas answered.

"I know," Sabrina said. She wrapped her arms around Jonas and said, "Be safe. I'm proud of you."

Puck and Jonas looked at each other, and Puck gave him a lopsided smile. "Try not to die," he said. "I actually kind of like you."

"Same to you," Jonas said. He turned, then, and slid down the side of the roof to another ledge below that.

"Convenient," Puck said to the air, "All these ledges and things on the walls. Almost like someone planned this place for climbing on the outside of."

"Oh, shut up and fly us out of here, fairy boy," Sabrina snapped.

Puck gave her a grin that wasn't as big as it normally would have been, and the two headed for the hills.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ This chapter was shorter than it should have been. Sorry 'bout that. Did it come across as dramatic, though? I'm always afraid I don't do a good job working tension into stories.<br>**

**Feature: "Earth and Fire" by emowriter  
><strong>An introspective thing about Sabrina and Daphne. It's awesome.

**Some Review Replies:**

Guest 1: **Oh, I enjoy that more, too. It's just weird that people bugged me for one and when I gave it to them they bugged me for the other. However, telling me the characters are boring IS kind of rude. If I told you your family was boring and added 'no offense' after that, you'd still be offended, right? Well, it's kind of like that. At least tell me why and how to fix it.**

Guest 2: **Well, thank you so much for that encouraging review! I didn't get as many reviews as I normally do for this chapter and the previous one, so it was nice to get something that enthusiastic. :)**

Guest 3: **Umm... Seven-ish. Maybe six, maybe eight. Less than ten more, I think. If all goes as planned.**

mindblowingfact: **I was never considering that. Glad you like it. :)**

Nello Orella: **QotU: You know, I'm not really a hot chocolate fan, so that doesn't add much for me, but it's a good reason. Chapter: Well, self preservation is a strong instinct, and she wants to get out of those handcuffs.**

SilSha: **Holy crow that's a long review. I've only read the first two Skulduggery Pleasant books (library never got the others), so I don't know who Darquess is, though I can guess. QotU: That's a pretty cool answer. Chapter: Yeah, Sabrina's cool. Reading suggestions: yeah no I don't have time. Sorry. I'd already read all the books and the other things just... meh.**


	29. Claustrophobic

**AN~ I'm really sorry, guys. I got a bad cold and didn't feel like writing ANYTHING. I hope the Puckabrina in here makes up for it a bit.  
><strong>

QotU: I feel like I might have been a bit bratty recently. So to make up for it, and because we're winding down on this fic (five to seven chapters left), here's a QotU about you: what do you want to see happen here. I don't promise to use it, but I'll try, as long as it's not too OOC or it doesn't go against the plot in my head.

**Old QotU Winner: Krystnn nli. I mean, her review didn't actually say anything about the chapter, but the QotU kind of HAD to pertain to the story, so it's okay.  
><strong>

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><p>They'd dropped the servant off someplace that he might be treated in time to survive, and now Sabrina and Puck were running.<p>

Sabrina's lantern left flickering dots of light on the walls of the tunnels around them, just enough light bouncing around that they could see things they needed to avoid. She was in the lead because she knew the tunnels better than Puck did, and because Puck had a knife. The sounds of battle had entered the labyrinth of the old city shortly after Puck and Sabrina had, and Sabrina only had her practice sword. They needed protection, and Puck could provide.

This didn't mean he was happy about it. He felt like the walls were closing in on him, and he was sure he couldn't fight in a space this small. Actually, he was pretty sure that Sabrina could fight way better than he could anyway, but she'd been so firm about it that he hadn't had the guts- or the time- to argue with her.

The upside, though, was that he was so busy worrying about how he could protect them that he didn't have time to panic completely about the fact that they were heading deeper and deeper underground, and they never seemed to be heading up (what if they got trapped in the tunnels forever? What if Sabrina got them lost?). He also couldn't think too much about how all this was _his fault_ because _his inventions didn't work_ and _he was supposed to make sure they had early warning_ and _if he'd just moved faster or worked better, none of this would be happening_.

The noise of fighting was getting louder, no matter how fast they ran. In fact, they were running slower- Puck still felt fine, but Sabrina was flagging a bit- _Was she lost? Were they going the wrong way? _She was panting, too.

"Let's switch," she said, out of breath, slowing to a stop.

"What?" Puck asked, blinking at her. "Why?"

"I'm getting tired," she said, "You're not. So you should lead. I'll fight if someone comes along, but this way you'll at least get away."

Puck shook his head. "We both get away or neither of us does. The Old Lady needs you alive, Grimm."

"I'm a better knife fighter than you are, though," Sabrina pointed out.

"But I don't know where we're going," Puck countered.

"Take every other third left turn and every other second right," Sabrina said, "It's almost entirely a straight shot to the Tracks- you'll have a hard time getting us lost."

"The _Tracks_?" Puck yelped. "But they're a fortnight from here! How on earth are we going to get there with no food and no water?"

"We've got stops along the way," Sabrina said, "Emergency supplies. And it doesn't take as long underground. Trust me. We'll be fine. Now get in front and give me your weapon."

Puck didn't want to. He really didn't want to. He'd messed up before, he'd probably mess up getting them to the Tracks. They'd be lost in no time with him in the lead. But Sabrina's face didn't leave room for any arguments, and he could hear the sounds of a battle (shrieks and clangs and thuds and awful squishing noises) behind him, getting louder- closer. He sighed and traded Sabrina his knife for her lantern, passing her to get in the front.

They took off running again, trying to get away from the noise of the battle, which kept following them. Geez, how many people were in these tunnels? He hadn't seen anybody since they'd left that servant behind, but there had to be people- the Magicians had to be fighting _somebody_.

He counted turnoffs every time they passed one, but he wasn't sure he caught everything- there were so many shadows that _might_ be tunnels, he was never sure if he'd made the right turn. What if he got them lost? What if they spent the rest of their lives wandering around in these dark tunnels trying not to get killed by Magicians and starving? What if he never saw the sun again, never got to fly again? He didn't think he could handle it.

There was a clang right behind him, and he whipped his head around to see what that _noise_ was and saw-

Someone had caught up to them- someone like him, with wings, it looked like- and the Magician was swinging a sword the size of Puck's whole _body_ at Sabrina, who was blocking with her six inch knife, and even if she was already reaching for the practice sword he knew she'd never be able to handle this it was too soon, too fast, too surprising, to _big_, and she was tiny, suddenly, and he was terrified for her.

She disconnected blades and spun away from her attacker, pulling her feeble looking practice sword out as she did so, and saw him staring at her. "Go!" she shrieked. "I'll catch up!"

He was torn between wanting to help her and wanting to do what she said, to get as far away from danger as possible. The Old Lady's words came back to him, asking him to keep her granddaughter safe. She was the only person who had ever trusted anything with him, and here he was thinking about abandoning that. His mind was made up. It didn't matter what happened, he would _not_ (could not) disappoint Relda Grimm.

He clenched his jaw, grabbed Sabrina's sword out of her hand as she swung it back, and waited. She shot him a glare but didn't have time to do anything else, caught up in the fight.

Puck waited.

Sabrina and the Magician fought.

And then Puck saw it- the opening he'd been waiting for.

Sabrina had backed around so that the Magician was between her and Puck, and now the Magician was too caught up in his fight to pay attention to Puck, and Puck had his opportunity. He did what Sabrina didn't know to do and couldn't do anyway because she was facing the Magician's front: he brought the practice sword down hard on their attacker's wings, _ripping_ through the thin membrane of the things as forcefully as he could.

The Magician let out a shriek and crumpled to the floor of the tunnel. Sabrina blinked at Puck, impressed, then jumped over their fallen foe, running ahead.

Puck started running again, too, still holding the sword. He grinned at Sabrina as he passed her to take the lead again and said, "Bet you didn't know I could do that, now, did ya?"

Sabrina shook her head. "I didn't even know you_ should_ do that!"

Puck's grin grew wider and more cocky. He handed Sabrina back her sword. "And here I thought your slogan was 'know your enemy' or something, Grimm."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Can't you ever be the tiniest bit gracious about being good at something?" she asked.

"Nope," Puck said. "It's part of my charm."

"Charm my foot," Sabrina muttered.

Puck didn't deem that worthy of a reply. Besides, he could hear someone else catching up, and he had to concentrate on tunnel numbers so they didn't miss a turn. He stopped talking and kept running, eyes on the walls around him.

He regretted that soon after- the banter had been a welcome distraction from his growing fear (fear that he'd mess up the count, fear that someone else would catch up and hurt them or kill Sabrina, fear of the tunnels he was sure were getting smaller) and without it his thoughts threatened to overwhelm him.

He tried to drown the thoughts out with counting, but it didn't work. Even when eventually the sounds of battle grew fainter and fainter behind them until finally even his keen ears couldn't hear anything other than the sounds he and Sabrina made as they ran through the tunnels (panting, pounding feet, rustling clothes, weapons and bags thudding against thighs), he was still terrified.

The walls were definitely getting closer. The tunnels were shrinking. He was sure of it. He must have made a wrong turn- if this was the right tunnel, it wouldn't be getting smaller, would it?

He felt his breath catch in his throat, even as he ran, and no matter how hard he tried to get it to steady- deep breaths, make it easier to run- he couldn't, and he was breathing shallower and shallower, less and less air- was there less air in here? Was that why he couldn't breath right?- and suddenly he couldn't run anymore, and he stumbled to the floor of the tunnel, wheezing, eyes wide as he put his hands to his throat. _What was wrong with him?_

"Puck?" Sabrina asked him, kneeling next to where he crouched. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Can't-" he wheezed, "breathe."

"Puck," she said, "You're panicking. I need you to calm down."

He shook his head. "Not enough- air."

"Yes there is," Sabrina said firmly. "There's plenty of air. I'm breathing just fine, see?"

Puck looked at her more closely. Her breath was coming kind of hard, but she wasn't running out of air like he seemed to be.

"I need you to take a deep breath with me, Puck," she said. "Breath like I do: in-" she breathed in, and he tried to breathe with her, deeper, deeper, more air- "and out-" a long, slow exhale, too long for him, all his air went out in a rush. "Again. In-" longer this time, slower, and he was following better- "out-" he almost made it this time.

They breathed like that for a long time- Puck didn't know how long, but eventually his breathing returned to normal. He'd panicked. He was better now- he could think clearly, at least- but he was by no means functioning properly, and he knew it.

"You okay now?" Sabrina asked.

He thought about it. "I guess," he said.

"You can't do that to me again, Puck," she said, voice deadly serious. "I need you."

Puck laughed a little, without any humor. That was a good one.

"I'm serious," she said, voice getting more fierce. "It's just you and me here, Puck. You fall to pieces and we both die."

"We're doomed, then," Puck said, voice bleak as he sat up.

"_No we're not_!" Sabrina hissed. "You are going to get up and go forward and we're going to make it to one of the emergency stations and then we're going to sleep and get up and do it again tomorrow and the next day and the next until we make it out of this place, and so help me Puck if you fall to pieces I will make you regret it every day of your life!"

"You can't change the facts, Grimm," Puck said, "and the facts are that I'm pathetic. I'm hopeless. Useless. So if you're depending on me you've made a big mistake."

"What are you talking about?" Sabrina asked, bewildered. "Where is this coming from? You're Mr. Big-shot Trickster King. The lord of confidence and all that stuff. What is this?"

"Ever heard of bravado?" Puck asked. "My brother had me look it up one time, back before someone pulled a prank so I can't go near books without getting a rash. It means fake confidence to impress of frighten others. I'm worthless and stupid. I'm just hiding it."

"What on earth-" Sabrina said, gaping.

"Isn't that what you always thought?" Puck asked. "I thought all Sneaks thought Tricksters were idiots."

"Thought," Sabrina said suddenly.

Now Puck was the one confused. "Huh?"

"I thought you were all lazy and dumb," Sabrina said. "I was wrong."

Puck stared at Sabrina in the flickering pinpoints of light from the tin lantern- somehow it hadn't gone out when he fell, though it lay a good ten feet away. He couldn't quite read her expression.

"Puck, you're- astounding," Sabrina said. "You're not stupid, you're- you're so creative, and really, really smart. You just don't know it. And it's not the kind of smart most people are."

"Why didn't my traps work, then?" Puck asked. "I was supposed to make sure we got early warning so the Magicians couldn't sneak up on us, and look what happened!"

"I don't know, because they're Magicians!" Sabrina snapped. "They've got all sorts of crazy things up their sleeves, and _we can't protect against them all_. It's not your fault. So could you stop having a pity party and get up so we can get out of here?"

Puck looked at her more closely, then gave a small smile. Somehow or other, she'd said the right thing. He pushed himself off the floor and they started off again, not running this time.

As they walked along, he glanced at her sidelong. "Do you really think I'm a genius?" he asked, flashing her a crooked grin.

Sabrina shoved him and rolled her eyes. "Don't push it, lunkhead.

Puck grinned at her and said, "I knew you loved me."

He ran forward as Sabrina shoved him again, laughing as she called, "Come back here and say that to my face!"

* * *

><p>It took them a week and a half to make it through the tunnels. It probably would have taken them longer if Puck hadn't been so uptight most of the time. He found that he couldn't sleep in a space this tight, this dark (the lantern was turned off at night to save oil), and after the fourth time he woke Sabrina up with his panting or clawing or pacing she decided that they might as well press on instead of wasting time when neither of them were getting any rest.<p>

When they made it into the sunlight of the border between Trickster and Artisa, Puck ran, then flew, out into it, dancing and spinning and whooping. "Freedom!" he shrieked.

He was vaguely aware of Sabrina below him, laughing to herself as she lounged against the sandstone walls of the tracks- this one had a shoreline, thankfully. Most of his attention was taken up by the glorious _space_ around him, though.

Eventually, though, his tiredness caught up with him, and his body reminded him that he'd gotten maybe fifteen hours of sleep in the past ten days. He landed on the sand and laid down next to Sabrina's feet.

"I'm never going underground again," he said.

"Never say never," Sabrina said, warning in her voice.

"Don't ruin this for me," Puck said. "I'm reveling."

"Didn't know you knew what that meant," Sabrina said, but she was smiling.

"That brother of mine," Puck said, shaking his head. "He keeps going and _teaching_ me stuff. I don't know, man. It's weird."

"Oh no," Sabrina joked back. "How dare he?"

Suddenly, they were both laughing hysterically.

Once Sabrina had sobered up, she said, "Ah, I needed that. But listen-" Puck groaned. "Don't give me that," she snapped, glaring at him. "This is serious. You reminded me- we should tell your brother we're here. Can you get a message there without anyone else knowing?"

"Maybe," Puck said warily. "But I thought we didn't want anyone to know where we were."

"I want my grandma to know I'm safe," Sabrina said. "I also want to know if she's okay. And you should tell your family the same thing."

"Why?" Puck asked.

"Because they care about you," Sabrina said.

Puck snorted.

"Seriously," Sabrina said. "They may not be very good about showing it, but I know it when I see it. So get a message someplace and let them know we're alive."

"Fine," Puck groaned, giving her his best 'I'll do it but I really don't want to' impression.

"Don't give me that," she said, rolling he eyes. "Besides," she gave him a small smile. "If they know where we are, they can get us food and things. Otherwise we'll have to get all our own.

Now _that_ was a good reason.

* * *

><p>Puck sent off a letter to his brother. Two weeks later, a large package arrived, smuggled in by Mustardseed, presumably.<p>

Sabrina and Puck, who had been living off of small animals poorly cooked over tiny driftwood fires, were very eager to open the package, which had been dropped to them from high above by someone they couldn't see.

When they opened it, they found several jars of canned food and packages of other foods, two bedrolls, a bag of gender-neutral clothes that could fit either Puck or Sabrina with a little work, a book, a set of pots and pans that fit into each other nicely and contained bowls, spoons, and cups in their innards, several small weapons and a bar of soap that Sabrina grew very excited over, and a stack of letters.

After that, they moved camp. The package was wonderful, but they couldn't chance anyone knowing where they were, and they'd stayed too long in that track as it was. They packed everything back up- Puck complained a little bit about the lack of a tent, but Sabrina shushed him, still rejoicing over her new clean things- and moved upriver several Tracks, until they came to one with an overhang they could camp under. It was obvious from the smoke on the ceiling of the overhang and the charred wood on the sand that this place had been camped in before.

"Will we be safe here?" Sabrina asked, biting her lip. "I mean, if this is a common camp..."

"Relax," Puck told her with a grin. "Nobody comes down here unless they're desperate or on a dare or something. We'll be fine."

"You sure?" Sabrina asked. "I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night surrounded by Magicians or Tricksters looking for a fight."

Puck flashed her a crooked grin. "Well, I'm king of the Tricksters, so I think I can handle that one."

"What about Magicians?" Sabrina asked, still frowning.

"If we stay under the overhang nobody can see us," Puck pointed out. "You know how to make a fire that doesn't smoke much, right?" When she nodded, he continued, "So look around- there's no way in or out of this place but the way we came and the river on the other end, unless people fly. We'll have plenty of warning."

Sabrina's worried look didn't quite vanish, but she looked a little more relaxed. Puck was glad. He hated to see her look like that. He wanted to wash all the worry out of her life forever and-

He stopped. There was no point thinking like that. After all, she wasn't interested in him that way. She was interested in that Bradley boy.

Still, if the war lasted for more than three years...

No, that was just a dumb idea.

He sighed. He was thinking in circles.

"Why are you staring at me?" Sabrina asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Puck blinked. He was staring at her. He blushed and looked away. "Sorry."

Sabrina shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said, "Let's set up camp."

They did so, laying out their brand new bedrolls on opposite sides of the apparent firepit, as far away from each other as possible. Next they put the food and knives in convenient spots, took out the pans, and began collecting wood- it was late, so they might as well begin dinner now.

By the time they'd built up a fire and dinner was cooking over it, dark was almost fully upon them, so they ate and went to bed in their blankets, which were so comfortable Puck almost couldn't believe it. As a result, it was the next morning before either of them had a chance to look at the letters.

Puck read his first: a note from Mustardseed.

_Puck_, (it read)

_I'm glad to hear you are safe. I have enclosed the things I feel you will need, along with several letters that have been passed on to me from the others I told of your news- Relda, Mother, and Sabrina's younger sister. If you write me again, I will write you back. Otherwise I will assume that you are safe and in hiding, and you ought to assume that I am also safe, but busy with a war.  
><em>

_Regards,_

_Mustardseed_

Puck was about to put his letter down when Sabrina shrieked.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ I feel like I overused italics in here a bit. Did I?<br>**

**Feature: "Gaining Respect" by Sarcastic Freaks  
><strong>A tiny oneshot about a pairing that doesn't get much press- Mr. Seven and Morgan. I like it. :)

**Some Review Replies:**

chemicallyburned: **That's kind of what I figured. It's a busy time of year, and I remember review counts dropping off when that happened once before. (A blog? What?)**

Guest on chapter 1: **I updated. Sorry it took longer than usual. I'm glad you like Daphne's chapters.**

Guest on chapter 13: **I wanted to get Natalie in there somehow, and that was how I chose to do it.**

Guest 1: **I actually have no idea who you are (I can guess, but I'm not sure). How did I spell it? Those are possibilities. I'm glad I succeeded with suspense, and I'm sorry it was shorter. I don't plan on publishing it anywhere else because it IS technically a fanfiction, but I'm glad you think so. Iron Man is cool.  
><strong>

Guest 2: **You called it boring. I'm allowed to politely point out that telling me it's boring without saying why isn't very nice. Neither is saying I seem like a whiny baby. I understand that you don't mean offense, but it comes across that way anyway.**

Guest 3: **I'm totally doing more, see?**

Guest 4: **Thanks bunches for that! I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job with them. :)**

Guest 5: **Thanks so much!**

Guest 6: **You're welcome. :) I'll keep doing it, since you like it. (Seriously, I AM sorry. But I don't see how being two days late on an update makes me a bad author.)**

puckabrinaluva: **Glad you liked it! :D Thanks bunches!**


	30. So How Is Everybody?

**AN~ I'd apologize to you all again, but seriously? If you're waiting on me to update this fic and ticked at me about it in the summer, then I'm sad for you. Go outside and stop being on the internet. That's what I've been doing.**

QotU: On a scale of green to fish, how much do you hate me for not updating?

**Old QotU Winner: yokie999777000 because sadism is cool. But I'll probably incorporate a lot of the ideas.**

* * *

><p>When Mustardseed got his brother's letter, he was thrilled, and so relieved he sagged into his chair and did absolutely nothing for nearly five minutes- a new record of rest for him. Then he set about writing several other letters- one in response to his brother, which he left unsealed in case he wanted to add more to it later, one to his mother, who was on the battlefield, one to the regent of Sneak, who was currently acting ruler in the absence of the queen, and one to a contact he'd made recently, one Daphne Grimm. Then he began planning a package to send to the two fugitives.<p>

A few months ago, Mustardseed had received an anonymous letter from the capital of Artisa. It read as follows:

_Dear Prince Mustardseed__,_

_I hope you don't mind my writing to you, but my sister has told me so much about you in letters that I was sure you would listen and be trustworthy. You see, I cannot tell my grandmother where I am- it would be too dangerous. But I want her and my sister to know that I am safe and well, and I am hoping you can safely get this information to them. I also have several letters I would like to send to them which I was hoping I might get there through you._

_If you are unwilling, I completely understand. It is a dangerous job, even if I am safely in neutral territory. Please respond as quickly as possible._

_Regards,_

_Your friend_

_P.S.: I won't tell you my name. But I bet you can guess who I am._

He had responded as quickly as he was able, writing only,

_Dear friend,_

_I would be glad to pass on your messages to your family. Unfortunately, your sister is currently missing, but I will hold all letters until she is found, as I am sure she is just fine._

_Sincerely,_

_One like-minded._

She had passed on several letters and he had held half of them, waiting for just this moment. He tucked them inside his own envelope, ready to send them on to Sabrina and Puck.

Only once the package was as ready as he could make it without waiting for a response from his mother or Sabrina's family did Mustardseed allow himself to really feel relieved, though. His first five minutes of inactivity aside, he hadn't expressed his joy adequately. And right now, Mustardseed, who didn't normally allow himself to feel, let alone express, much emotion, was overwhelmed with joy that his twin brother was still wonderfully, irritatingly, blessedly alive.

He ran down the hall in an undignified manner, his unbuttoned waistcoat flapping awkwardly as he did so. He didn't care. He didn't even care if anybody saw him and laughed behind his back, as they were likely to do. He was too happy.

"Cobweb!" he shouted as he ran, "Cobweb! Cobweb!" Cobweb was the only person present he trusted enough to give this news to, and he needed to share it with someone. He needed to _talk_ with someone, gush and scream that Puck was _safe_ and all was right with the world because his big brother would be back to deal with these awful Tricksters eventually and Mustardseed could once again be left to manage the more practical, less personal parts of running a kingdom. Puck was alive. Puck would come home to tease Mustardseed in the nicest way possible. Puck would be back to be filthy and balance Mustardseed out completely. Puck would come _home_.

"He can't come back yet, you know," Cobweb told him, shattering this dream as soon as Mustardseed had calmed down enough.

Mustardseed wanted to stamp his foot and demand 'why not?' but he didn't. He was the mature one, much as he was tired of it, much as he just wanted his family all back around him where they belonged. So he just sighed and nodded. "I know. It's too dangerous. I just wish..."

Cobweb nodded. "It's hard," he agreed.

"I've never been away from him for so long," Mustardseed said. "Even if we didn't _see_ each other, I still knew I could walk right to his room and he'd be there."

"He'll be back," Cobweb said. "He's a tough one, and trickier than all of us combined. He can stay safe."

Mustardseed nodded again. "It's just... I never thought I'd miss him. But I do. So much. And I want him to come home because I've never told him I love him, and he's my brother, Cobweb, and the closest thing I've ever had to a friend and he thinks I think he's a nuisance."

"He is a nuisance," Cobweb said mildly, pouring a bit of powder from one vial into another, larger vial that was half full of pink liquid. "But he's also a number of other things. I think that the best possible way to rule this country would be a partnership by the two of you."

Mustardseed sighed. "Good luck convincing anyone else of that."

"I'm afraid you'll have to do that," Cobweb said.

Mustardseed laughed. "No," he said. "I'll just help from the background, like I always have."

"Suit yourself," Cobweb said. "When are you going to send off that package?"

"As soon as I get responses from the families," Mustardseed said, "Or in three weeks. Whichever comes first."

"I suppose the only thing to do now is wait, then," Cobweb said.

"Yes," Mustardseed agreed. "I suppose you're right."

* * *

><p>The kingdom of Artisa was a land of opulence, and the king knew just how to keep his subjects happy. He'd started out right after the end of his brother's short, horrendous reign. Atticus had destroyed thousands of priceless treasures in the two years he'd ruled the country, and even more during his childhood. So King William had begun his reign by calling all the master craftsmen together and, with a sketch of the destroyed object handy courtesy of a master painter, asking the other masters if they could recreate, repair, or outdo the broken piece. They'd loved him for that.<p>

The silver- and goldsmiths had loved him even more when he'd approached them once to say that he'd heard someone complaining about there not being enough creative metalwork to do, and he thought that while, in other countries where there were problems with forgery, money that matched was all well and good, he thought that Artisan money should be a little better than that. He asked them if they thought it would be a good idea to make each piece its own profession of mastery. They thought it was an excellent plan.

Every architect or builder who received his or her mastery was invited to add a room, wing, or building to either the summer palace or the main castle of Artisa. And to fill these many, many rooms, William had his very short but capable steward invite painters, carvers, glassblowers, rugmakers, and all others craftsmen to his castle once a month- as many as could fit. They came, and he bought pieces from a select few to fill the rooms. He talked with the vendors, asking them if they thought such and such an item would make an appropriate wedding gift for the queen of a country, or if they thought this toy would be too old for a prince's fifth birthday. They loved the attention, and so, loved him.

Yes, William Charming certainly lived up to his name, because he understood people, and knew how to please them.

So why was he having so much trouble with these two guests of his?

Snow had always been difficult. It was part of the reason he was so fascinated by her, she wouldn't conform to other people's patterns. He could never be charming enough to win her over. That was nothing new, though he was trying his hardest to genuinely be nice to her without pandering. She deserved that.

This other one, though, the princess she'd broken out of prison, she was just impossible. She was happy and bouncy or very angry by turns, and she was constantly asking _questions_, like 'do you love Ms. White?' 'Why don't you ask her to marry you?' 'What's that glass thing over there?' 'Why aren't you already married?' 'Can I pick it up?' 'Oops, can that be fixed?' 'Can I make one?' and 'Can you take me with you next time you leave the castle?'

She. Was. Infuriating.

So right now he was torn between being grateful and worried because they'd been in the same room for five minutes and she hadn't said a word.

All right, he couldn't stand it any longer.

"What is wrong with you, child?" he exploded. "Why aren't you making noise?"

He looked over at her and noticed that she was reading a piece of paper- a letter? Most likely. She barely even glanced up at him when he asked what was going on. How rude.

"I thought you wanted her to be quiet, Billy," Snow said. He was fairly certain she was teasing.

"I do," William said, ignoring her nickname for him. As long as he kept the girl (or anyone else) from picking it up he didn't care if she used it.. "But it's... unnerving."

Daphne had stopped reading her paper and was now scribbling madly on a new sheet, biting her lower lip as she did so.

Snow picked up the letter and asked, "May I?"

Daphne glanced over for half a second and nodded as she returned to her writing.

Snow spent half a minute reading the letter and set it back down on the table with a large smile. "Well," she said.

"What is it?" William asked. Honestly, these women. Could they _get_ more incommunicative?

"The Trickster King and the Queen of the Sneaks are alive and well. It's the first we've heard of them in the entire time we've been here," Snow said. "Daphne's sister is safe. Safe and completely uninformed."

"So... what?" William asked. Snow had been very cagey about what had happened and why she and Daphne needed to hide here, and he hadn't asked too many questions, because he knew from past experience that Snow wouldn't answer if she didn't think he needed to know. But this was rather ridiculous.

"She's writing to tell them what she found out," Snow said, as if this should be obvious.

"Snow," William said, exasperated. "You're getting ridiculously evasive. I've let you stay here, and I haven't asked questions for the most part, but I think I have a right to know why you two are hiding in my house!"

Snow smiled at him a little sadly. "I'd tell you if you needed to know, Billy, but it's not safe."

"What do you mean it's not safe?" William demanded.

"The less you know, the less involved you get in a three-country war," Snow said. "Right now you're just entertaining a visiting dignitary. If you found out why we were hiding here or who had done what, your country would inevitably get involved. I don't want to see your people forced to turn from their other projects to make weapons."

William glared at Snow. She might be right. In fact, she probably was. Even if she had forgotten that he knew they'd come from Magica. And the Magicians wouldn't care if he didn't know the crimes of his refugees, they would simply attack. This way, at least, his citizens couldn't fault him if they did end up going to war.

"If it did come down to war, I'd be on your side," he told Snow.

"Hmph," Snow said, sounding unconvinced. "We'll see."

* * *

><p>Sabrina stared at the letter in her hand. She'd opened the one from Daphne first, because it meant her sister was out of prison, and she needed to know what was happening there. Just the fact that her grandmother had <em>sent<em> her letters meant she was fine, and Sabrina could save those for later, when she'd have time to discuss strategy through mail.

Now, though, she couldn't decide if opening the most recent letter from Daphne was a good thing or a bad thing.

The letter she'd just finished, the one that had made her scream, read as follows:

_Dear Sabrina,_

_I've written to you before about how Ms. White helped me get out of prison, and everything that's happened in Magica and Artisa since then, so I won't bother recounting it. Doubtless Mustardseed has passed these letters on to you. What I haven't written you yet is more important, though. I didn't want to put it in a letter until I was sure it would reach you and not be intercepted, but now I know you're alive I can write you._

_Sabrina, OUR PARENTS ARE ALIVE._

_I saw them while we were escaping. They, and our brother, are hidden in the center of Magica's capital. They're being watched over by an insane girl named Red in her hall of monsters. They appear to be cursed, because they were just lying in bed with no restraints._

_I wanted to rescue them, but it was impossible at the time, and now Ms. White won't let me go back and try again- she says it's too dangerous. She's probably right. And I know you're probably going to go after them by yourself now- DON'T. If you can't take me with you (I will resent you forever for going after them without me), then you must at least take someone you can trust. Do not go in there alone. I can't lose you, too._

_Love,_

_Daphne_

_P.S. I'd rather you came and got me and then we could go after our parents together. Please?_

Sabrina didn't know how to react.

She'd have to get to her parents. She'd have to rescue them. There was no other choice. But how? How could she not have known they were alive? How could nobody have found them? How could Daphne not have rescued them?

Well, she certainly wasn't going to go get Daphne to get them out. Her sister had had her chance, and failed. Sabrina would go on her own- as soon as she could figure out how.

"What is it?" Puck was asking her, his voice pulling her out of her thoughts. "What's wrong? Did you see someone?"

Sabrina shook her head and passed him the letter silently.

Puck read it. He took entirely too long, and Sabrina had time to realize that the letter was in code while he stared at it.

"Sorry," she apologized, flushing a little, "I'm... I'm kind of in shock." She took the letter back.

Puck rolled his eyes as he handed it to her, saying, "Geez, Grimm. Way to freak me out there for a second. I thought you'd gone crazy."

"Funny, you'd think that since _you_ couldn't read the letter, _you'd_ be the crazy one," Sabrina shot back. There. She was feeling more herself already.

Puck rolled his eyes again. "Just read me the letter already, hermit-hair."

Sabrina summarized it for him instead of reading it. After she'd finished, she said, "I have to go after them."

"We," Puck said simply.

"Huh?" Sabrina asked.

"We have to go after them," he expanded. "Not you. Us."

Sabrina shook her head. "I can't ask you to do that, Puck. Have you learned anything about Magica? Their entire capital city is inside a mountain. You'd... You wouldn't be able to take it."

"You're not asking me to," Puck said, "I'm telling you that I can't let you go in there alone. I mean, hall of monsters? You'd be destroyed without me there to protect you."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right." Some backup _would_ be nice, honestly, but not...

"You don't think I'd be any good," Puck muttered. "You think I'd freeze up and you'd be left on your own. That's it, isn't it?"

It kind of was. "You're unpredictable in tight spaces," she said tactfully. "I need to know that you'd be help and not a burden."

"Fine," Puck said, "I'll make sure I won't be a burden. I'll get over it. But you are _not_ going in there alone. I will chain you to me again if I have to."

But... that meant _time_. That meant that she couldn't leave today.

"How about I go now and you follow me once you're ready?" she suggested.

"No," Puck said, not even bothering to joke about it.

Sabrina really wanted to go right now and rescue her parents. But she was torn. She'd done things like this before and they'd gone horribly wrong. But she was desperate to see her parents again. It had been nearly five years. But she wanted to make sure she got them out this time. She couldn't fail because she was too reckless. Not with this. It was too important.

For nearly the first time in her life, Sabrina willingly gave in without a fight.

"Fine," she said with a sigh. "You have until I'm adequately prepared to get over your phobia. Two weeks. After that I'm leaving, with or without you."

"I can swing that," Puck agreed. His voice sounded calm and collected, but his face was a bit green, and after he finished his sentence he swallowed hard.

Sabrina gave him a wary look. When it came down to it, she hoped she could count on him.

* * *

><p>Jonas stood on the turret of the castle and watched the war below. It was a bloody, gorey mess. He was ashamed that he was proud to be safely on the tower.<p>

He was one of the few people left in Sneak's castle. Officially, the Magicians had captured the building and were claiming it as their own, using it as a military base in Sneak. But the Magicians didn't know the Sneaks. There were about twenty-five Sneaks hiding in the palace, learning the Magician's plans before they could. They slept in secret rooms and hid in passageways to get and give information.

If things hadn't been so desperate, Jonas would be having the most fun he'd had in his entire life.

The war was kind of at a stalemate. Sneak castle was in enemy hands, but everywhere else things were about equal, especially now that Titania had brought forward the Tricksters. Magica won more battles overall, but they also lost more soldiers, because they found that any time they were going to capture or kill an enemy, he or she would disappear right out from under them.

Jonas didn't know exactly what was going on, but Relda and Titania were on two different battlefronts, leading the armies themselves. Sabrina and Puck were officially missing, though there were rumors that the Queen Regents knew where their rulers were.

All in all, things were going as well as could be expected- this battle might rage for years, but they weren't losing, and there was a chance they might actually win.

That didn't make it any easier to watch the fighting in the courtyard below. Jonas turned away, swallowing some bile that was climbing up his throat. War was disgusting.

* * *

><p>The next two weeks were spent very well by Sabrina and Puck. Puck gave himself controlled exposure to tight spaces, daring himself to stay in for longer each time. When he was really desperate, he had Sabrina come over to taunt him. He found that that was actually the best way for him to face his fears: if he had her there to distract him he thought about his fears less, and he was determined to show her up. A double incentive.<p>

Sabrina, for her part, combed every letter her sister had sent to her for details about the way in to Magica, and what she'd face while there. She sent away (via Mustardseed) for the most possibly accurate map of Magica's capital city- it was a pop-up book because of how oddly shaped the city was, with various cross- sections and smaller piecemeal maps. She memorized the journey they'd have to take, and collected the supplies they'd need.

Finally, finally, they were ready to go.

Sabrina bundled everything up into two small packrolls, pulled out a small lantern and lit it, and looked at Puck. "You ready for this?" she asked, looking at him closely. She still wasn't sure bringing him was a good idea.

They were standing at the mouth of the tunnel that would bring them to Magica. It was a gloomy day that was just beginning to spew fat raindrops onto them, as if the sky was spitting. She, for one, would be glad to get inside out of this weather.

Puck pulled his lips in so his mouth was nothing but a thin line. Then he nodded and said, "Let's do this."

Together, the two headed into the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ So there still won't be regular updates for a while. You may all hate me as much as you like. I like summer and being outside. Yeah.<strong>

**Feature: "The Kiss Book 9 Was Missing" by EstrangeloEdessa  
><strong>Who likes Puckabrina? (Everybody raises their hands) Who thinks that the end of book nine left more than a little to be desired? (Everybody raises their hands again) Good. We're in agreement. This fic will fix that.

**Some Review Replies:**

chemicallyburned: **That makes sense, I guess. Do you get people who look at the blog instead of checking the site? The Tracks LOOK kind of like giant footprints, but they're just deep canyons shaped like kidney beans and connected by a river. Which reviewer?**

Guest 1: **I updated!**

Guest 2: **I try hard for Thursday updates weekly- sometimes it doesn't happen, but I do try. I'm glad you like the book details 'cause I feel like they're necessary for a good AU. Thanks for the good rating! ^-^**

Guest 3: **Well, apparently I forgot to warn you all that I wanted to take the summer off, kind of. (That's because I didn't know until I did it... Sorry?)**

Guest 4: **You're welcome. :) I find Sabrina infuriating, not annoying. Glad you're glad for the minimal romance. ALSO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR UNDERSTANDING THAT I HAVE A LIFE. I promise it'll never get abandoned, though.**

Guest 5: **Thanks so much!**

Guest 6: **Thanks a ton! I didn't update soon because summer.**

Guest 7: **You know I can't tell you if I'm going to update or not if you don't have an account, right?**

Guest 8: **Well played, my friend. Well played.**

Guest 9: **I'm not going to abandon this. Promise. I've seen those fanfics too and they make me sad. But I like doing things and I felt like to do them I needed less fanfiction. Trust me, Puckabrina is there. Look harder for it (seriously though one of the themes of this story is about the gradual turnaround from hate to love- ever read Pride and Prejudice? Love is coming. But once it's there, what next? The subplot's over.)**

Guest 10: **I updated! (looks around shifty-eyed and back away guiltily)**

Guest on chapters 1 and 2: **I have a plotline written out, and I estimate that it'll take around five chapters. I may be wrong. ****You seriously want me to make Puck say 'I now you love'? Have you MET Puck? Daphne will meet Mustardseed and definitely Pinocchio but I'm not sure I'll leave it up to people to pick who they want him with (It's an interesting idea but I just really think Daphnerseed is too easy). Charming is the king of Artisa, which is where Daphne and Snow are hiding now. They're already meeting. More Red and Uncle Jake I can provide. ... Wait. I thought you wanted them to get together. Now you want me to rip off the epilogue of the book that I didn't even LIKE? Some of your suggestions are cool ideas. That one, though... Just no.**

Guest on chapter 5: **Yes I can. I just wasn't.**

Guest Who: **I Really don't know who you are so I'm just going to say clever name there. :) Those are all excellent pieces of advice that I will consider carefully while editing. (The thing about palace servants is that half of them are the equivalent of college students paying their way through school so they don't really stay around too long). Huh. Switching sides? That's actually pretty plausible because these people aren't really evil they just happen to be magical.**

Miss Anonymous: **I'm glad you like what I'm doing, thank you very much! I personally feel bad for Bradley- it's not his fault Puckabrina had to happen- but understand you not liking him. I promise to never abandon any of my fanfics, I just needed some time off.**

Random20: **Thanks for the review! If I were going to make it a book (which I probably won't), I'd have to change some of the details that are VERY Sisters Grimm, then change the names and part of the setting. After that I wouldn't have to worry about copyright quite so much because my world is so different (Cassandra Clare did it). Your second review: I look at ALL my reviews. :) Don't know what you mean about a chain reaction, but trust me I have every intention of finishing the Pinocchio thing. Yes, it IS illegal for non-Magicians to learn magic.**

SilSha: **See, I THOUGHT it was you, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't want to go with it 'til I was. I like names. They're convenient. Why wasn't it a good spot to stop? 'Cause it's a cliffy? That's a thing people do. It's why I don't read in-progress fics very often. :) I thought there was plenty of Puckabrina. Subtle Puckabrina. QotU: That's okay. Suit yourself.**

Snowedapple13: **I updated. Sorry it took so long, but I wanted to have the summer to myself, not the internet. And it felt great, to be honest. You should try it. Read books, go places, explore, cook food, sit in the sun and bask! It's wonderful.**


	31. Attack in the Dark

**AN~ For this chapter, you should switch the reading options to white text on a black background. I think it adds to the mood. (Actually, go back and do that to all the chapters that happen in tunnels. Works so much better that way. Like how GPSs go purple-on-gray after dark.)  
><strong>

QotU: Who do you ship with Daphne and why: Mustardseed, Pinocchio, Red, Wendell, Toby, Tiny Tim, or an OC (or someone I forgot to add to the list)? This is your chance to convince me of your ship, because I'm not sure who I like right now (though I'm leaning away from Mustardseed). No pairing bashing,* and the most detailed and/or original answers are more likely to win than 'Daphne/Mustardseed because they're SO CUTE!'

**Old QotU Winner: You guys weren't really too creative on your answers for that one. I was hoping for some more randomness. SilSha and Julianna both win, though, because they at least TRIED. This chapter is dedicated to them.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>It was a very long, very difficult trip through the tunnels into Magica, and not just for Puck. Sabrina kept watching him and expecting something to go wrong. He never really lost it again, but he looked mildly terrified the entire journey. She hated seeing him like that. She wanted him to go back to being loud, boisterous, overconfident, and funny to a fault.<p>

When she found herself missing his pranks, she knew something was wrong with her.

But he just... he didn't seem like himself, and it hurt her to look at this pathetic version of Puck.

Even if he was far less irritating.

Still, now they were in a slightly larger cave, creeping along, and he seemed mostly okay. He'd even mocked her sneaking style, pointing out that there was nobody around, so her tiptoeing just looked ridiculous.

Sabrina ignored him and kept walking as quietly as possible, the very faint light from her mostly-covered lantern lighting up just enough space in front of her so that she didn't trip over a rock. She smiled a little bit, though.

She'd been even more satisfied when, a few seconds later, a large roar had come from the left and a pair of yellow, mismatched eyes caught in her light.

Then the fear had set in.

"You win," Puck said, voice quavering just the tiniest bit, "There's a point to sneaking in here. So... now what?"

"Umm... we could run?" Sabrina suggested. "Or we could stay very still and hope it ignores us. It depends what kind of monster it is."

"Oh, very helpful," Puck snapped. "'It depends what kind of monster it is,' great. How do we _know_ what kind it is?"

"One of us could run and the other one could stay put," Sabrina suggested. "It'll go after one of us."

"Uh, no thanks," Puck snorted. "That's a stupid plan."

"Well, I'm sorry!" Sabrina snapped. "Monsters weren't really a big part of my training!"

"Well I didn't have any training so I think you're the one that's supposed to know stuff!" Puck snapped. "So there!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sabrina asked.

The eyes were getting closer steadily.

"It means it's your fault we're gonna get eaten!" Puck declared, like this should be obvious.

The monster growled.

"Listen," Sabrina whispered, suddenly remembering something she'd been told about wild animals, which she figured were similar enough to monsters for it to be relevant, "I think we should be very quiet, okay?"

"Why?" Puck asked, not lowering his voice at all.

"Because animals come after noises," Sabrina said. "We're telling it exactly where we are."

"Oh," Puck said quietly. "That's a good reason."

Yes it was. Sabrina shielded the light under her skirt, and the thing's eyes abruptly stopped shining. This was good because now it couldn't see them- hopefully- but it was also awful, because she couldn't see it. It could be right next to them. What if it had a sense of _smell_? Then it could find them in complete darkness even if they made absolutely no noise.

It hit her then, that she was probably going to die. Unlike when she'd almost fallen to her death, and she'd gone rather numb, this was a cold sensation, like the time Puck had attached a bucket of ice water to her door and it had drenched her as she left her room. She was going to die. And she'd never see her parents again, nor her sister. She wouldn't help Sneak win the war. She'd never- she'd never... but that was silly. She was not going to think about the boy behind her, and all that they were going to lose. It wasn't losing anything, really. He didn't want it.

Puck's hand was in hers, suddenly, with a quiet scuffling noise. Did he- of course he didn't. But what else could he be-

Oh.

There was a buzzing noise, and Sabrina felt her feet being lifted off the ground. Maybe she wasn't going to die, after-

"Ow!" she shrieked, yanking her leg up higher.

The thing had apparently realized they were getting away, or heard Puck's wings, because it had lunged forward and dug claws that Sabrina didn't know it had into her right leg. It hurt. A lot.

Puck squeezed her hand and flew higher. Sabrina carefully pulled the lantern back out of her skirt so that he could see where they were going and hopefully not bash himself into any rocks.

"Don't die on me, Grimm," he said, "I need you to keep the lantern lit so I can get out of here."

"I'm touched by your concern," Sabrina said.

"You should know I don't do concern by now," Puck said, and she saw his teeth flashing in the darkness.

"Watch where you're going, or we'll both be dead," she ordered, ignoring his comment.

He did, and they flew on in silence for a time. Sabrina was pretty sure that she was dripping blood onto the tunnel below them, but she couldn't hear it splashing. This cavern must be enormous. In fact, all she could see was the two of them, and occasionally some stalactites in the ceiling that Puck had to avoid. Other than that their light was a small pool in the blackness.

It would probably have made someone else feel small, or poetic. It just made Sabrina bored. And that made her notice the pain in her leg more.

Of course, she wasn't going to _say_ anything about it. She was bigger than that, and she didn't want Puck to think she was a weakling or something.

But it still hurt something awful.

"When do you think we should land?" Puck asked eventually.

Sabrina was about to answer when something appeared out of the darkness- again.

There was a whooshing noise, and her lantern caught a sheen of dark scales in its light, a pattern that rushed past them and out of sight again- for a little while.

They moved forward, quieter now (Sabrina suddenly felt that the sound of Puck's wings was far too loud), and the other sound, which was, Sabrina noticed, two long, regular whooshing noises repeated, drew almost out of hearing.

Then it closed in again.

This happened several times. Sabrina got tenser with each one, because it became apparent that the thing was _circling_ them like a shark in the ocean, and that it was huge. Bigger than the thing that had cut her leg (sharks were attracted to blood, she remembered, going cold again). Actually, she was pretty sure that this thing was so huge it was all that could justify a cavern this big- it needed space to fly.

"About landing?" she asked. "I think now would be a good time." She did _not_ want to be in the air with that thing. At least if they were on the ground she could fight back- maybe. Or run. If they took a hit here they were both dead.

Puck nodded and headed down for the ground, just as the thing swooped around close to them again.

The monstrosity apparently didn't like that, because there was a shriek that sounded like the cries of a thousand birds of prey melded into one being, and the regular course of the monster's circling ended suddenly as it _dove_, coming straight at them, and then what Sabrina could see in her lantern was lots and lots of _teeth_.

Puck didn't look back, he just changed course so he was to the left of the thing chasing them. It followed. Sabrina shouted instructions to Puck on where to go- she figured that they didn't have to be secretive any more. After all, that thing was already there. Things couldn't exactly get much worse.

The sideways dodging was all that kept them alive for long enough to reach the ground. Sabrina was reminded of a fly buzzing around someone's head, just fast enough to stay out of reach- until it landed.

But they had to land. And they did, tumbling to a stop by running headlong into a wall of the cave.

Sabrina felt herself roll over several times even after she'd hit the cave wall, moving sideways. When she finally stopped, she noticed, after the spinning ended, that she was seeing things spin because she could _see_. There was light in this part of the cave.

She laid on the floor for a few seconds, just relishing being alive. Then she tried to stand and fell back over, as soon as she put weight on her right leg. She swallowed a scream.

Crouching on the ground, Sabrina panted, trying to recover herself. Her leg _hurt_. But she needed to stand. She needed to find Puck. And her parents. She wanted to see what the light was, because it might be another danger. Heck, there was still a giant flying _thing_ up there somewhere, and she needed to go somewhere that it couldn't get her. She was _not_ going to die in a cavern in the dark just because she had a cut on her leg.

After she'd given herself several more encouraging thoughts like this, she felt almost up to trying to get up again, so she did. She almost wanted to collapse right back down to the floor, but she gritted her teeth and stayed standing.

_Just for ten seconds_, she told herself. _Keep standing for ten seconds. If you can do that, you'll be good. Just ten... seconds._

She made it ten seconds. Then ten more. Then another ten, and she decided that she'd gotten enough used to the agony that she could try moving forward.

She took a step-

And promptly fell over again.

It took her a good ten minutes to actually figure out a way to move forward, which involved leaning on the cave wall and sort of scooching herself along like a worm or something. She wished she'd agreed to take those extra acrobatics courses with Daphne. Then she could just walk on her hands.

She was heading towards the light. She'd decided that searching for Puck could wait a little bit- the light was probably closer, and it had less potential to move somewhere else. (Besides, even though she didn't want to admit it to herself, Puck would probably do better on his own than with her 'help.')

The light source, she was surprised to discover, was a very pretty crystal globe hanging above a small table. The table was painted white with small pink roses along the edges, and it had four matching chairs. It was set for tea. The china matched the table. It would almost have been a pretty scene, if it weren't for the fact that it gave Sabrina the creeps. The table had what appeared to be deep gouge marks on the legs, and so did the chairs. All of the china was chipped, and the tabletop was stained dark brown along one corner. It was also the only thing visible- a white table and empty chairs almost looking as if they were floating in the blackness that surrounded them.

It made Sabrina wish she'd gone to look for Puck first.

But she was here now, so she might as well keep going. It had been too much work to get here in the first place. So she headed closer to the table.

"Hello," a voice said from behind her as she was getting ready to push herself off the wall.

Sabrina jumped, landed hard on her bad leg, and almost collapsed again. Cursing, she righted herself with effort.

"We're not supposed to say those words," the voice said. It was a girl's voice, high pitched and somewhat sing-song.

She turned around and looked at the girl who had spoken. She was small, maybe ten years old at most, with curly hair. She looked brittle, almost. Sabrina couldn't see her eyes in the darkness. She shuddered.

"Are you here to play with me?" the girl asked.

Sabrina wasn't sure how to answer that. On the one hand, this obviously mental girl might know something that could help her find her parents. Daphne had mentioned a little girl in her letters, and though Sabrina couldn't remember exactly what she'd said, she thought this might be that girl.

On the other hand, she was insane. And she lived in a room full of monsters.

"That depends what we're playing," she said guardedly.

"House, of course!" the little girl grinned, moving closer to Sabrina.

"Oh," Sabrina said doubtfully. She hadn't played house in a good five years, since Daphne had decided she wanted to be an adult. "I suppose I could play, but I'll need help." she gestured to her leg.

The little girl giggled. "Were you playing with the others?" she asked. "They love to play, too. Only the kitty will play with me, though."

"Kitty?" Sabrina asked warily.

The girl nodded. "Kitty!" she called. "You can meet him," she told Sabrina. "He's my favorite."

Sabrina wasn't really sure she wanted to meet this kitty. Anything that could survive in this place was probably not a fluffy thing that liked to attack moving strings for kicks. But it didn't look like she had a choice.

The whooshing noise from before came again, and Sabrina cowered against the wall of the cavern. It was that thing, the one that had attacked her and Puck before. It was coming back. Did that mean that Puck had lost it? Or that it had found him?

The girl was giggling at her again. "You don't need to be scared," she assured her, "that's just my kitty coming."

Wonderful. Her kitty was a giant flying scaled monster who came when it was called. This girl was officially off the deep end if she could turn that into a cat. What kind of cat listened to a word its owners said?

"Come on," the girl said, "You can meet him."

Sabrina would have given quite a bit to pass on the meeting, so she said, "I can't really walk right now."

"Then kitty will just have to come to you!" the little girl said. She looked a little less cheerful now- kind of annoyed, actually.

Sabrina bit her lip and, despite a very strong desire to say she didn't want to meet the kitty at all, held her tongue. Part of her training had included visits to some deranged people, and she remembered them being unpredictable. One of them had tried to bite through her teacher's leg in revenge for moving a rock two inches over on a table. They hadn't gone back after that.

So the 'kitty' came forward and Sabrina held very, very still, balancing on her good leg and taking small shallow breaths. The light above the table showed her what the thing looked like in a way her pinholed lantern hadn't been able to. She would gladly go back to the glinting idea of the monster than see its full size, murky as it still was.

The thing was enormous. It was about three stories tall, covered in dark scales that shone in the moonlight. Its head and four clawed, birdlike feet were all too big for its very thin, snakelike neck and legs. The body of the thing was more proportional, which just made it look cartoonish. Its teeth and claws were about half as long as Sabrina was tall, curved and narrow, and yellowed. Its eyes glinted red. Sabrina was fairly certain she could stick her whole leg up its nostril (not that she'd want to- though Puck might, just to see if he could).

"That's quite a... big kitty you have there," she told the girl, swallowing.

The girl nodded, smiling. "He's my special kitty. Nobody's ever seen another one like him."

"I'll bet," Sabrina muttered.

"I had a doggy once, but he ran away," the girl said. "I think he went to find my grandmother. She's been missing for a very long time."

The odd thing was that what threw Sabrina off her footing the most was that this ten-year-old girl was speaking as if she were six. She was less bothered by that than what the girl was saying, and even by the 'kitty.' The monster, at least, Sabrina understood as something she could run from, or fight. The way the girl was talking just gave her the chills.

"What happened to her?" Sabrina asked, not sure she wanted to know.

"The doggy bit her," the girl said. "She didn't like that, so she hid. Now the doggy wants to say he's sorry, and he won't come back 'til he finds her."

"Oh," Sabrina said. She knew no more about what had happened to this girl's family than she had before her question was answered.

The girl was patting the monster on the head, crooning to it softly. Sabrina couldn't focus on what she was saying, exactly. She wasn't sure if it was how the girl was singing or her own pain and blood loss interfering with her perception of things.

She thought it might be her brain malfunctioning, because the shadows were beginning to move. One shadow, in particular, had gone haywire and was wavering all over the place.

And then the shadow made noise, and Sabrina started to get really worried.

"Psst!" it said.

She tried to ignore it, putting a hand to her head, but when the sound came again, Sabrina realized that it wasn't a shadow. It was Puck. And he was trying to get her attention.

She didn't look at him, but she removed her hand from her face and held one finger up out of the girl's range of vision, signaling him to wait. She hoped he'd listen.

But then the monstrous thing that was definitely not a kitty flared its nostrils and turned to look at Puck, a growl forming in its throat.

"What's that, kitty?" the girl asked. "Do we have another guest? Oh, wonderful!"

Sabrina had a number of other adjectives on hand to describe the fact that Puck had been found out, and none of them were 'wonderful.'

In fact, she heard Puck mutter one of them, and then there were a series of scuffling sounds as he presumably tried to back up. He failed.

"Aren't you going to say hello?" the girl asked, sounding offended.

Sabrina gave Puck a warning look as he was ushered by the monster's face back into the light. She hoped the look told him that he needed to be polite to this girl if he wanted them to make it out of here alive.

Apparently it worked, because all Puck said was "Hi,' even though it looked like he wanted to say something sarcastic.

"Are you here to play with me, too?" the girl asked. She clapped her hands, jumping up and down with an enormous smile on her face. Her eyes still weren't quite... right as she said "Oh, goody! I'm having more guests now than I've had for _years_!"

"Does it get very lonely down here?" Sabrina asked.

The girl shrugged. "Not really. I have my kitty and his friends to play with. And sometimes the grown-ups play games with me. But I have to go up to them most of the time. They don't like my house." She smiled. "I like having guests- most of the time." Her face darkened as abruptly as her grin had come. "The last guest left before the kitty could even play with her. And she tried to take my parents!"

Suddenly, Sabrina remembered what Daphne had written to her about where their parents were, and who was keeping them. This girl- Daphne had written about her. In fact, Daphne had told her that the girl was convinced the former king of Sneak and his wife were her own parents, and she thought she'd read that the girl had tried to kill Daphne when she'd said they weren't.

They were in deeper trouble than Sabrina had thought. And she'd thought they were in very big trouble before.

Puck was talking. She wished she'd thought faster, in time to make him be quiet, because he was saying, "- funny, there seems to be a lot of parent-stealing going on around here. Sabrina's looking for her parents, too."

Oh no.

The girl's angry expression got even more intense and she turned her glare on Sabrina. "You're here to steal them too, aren't you? You want my family!"

"Not necessarily," Sabrina said, trying to calm the girl down. She put her hands out in a gesture of peace. "I only want my parents. Yours might not be-"

"_Liar_!" the girl shouted. "You want to steal my family! You're as bad as the other girl! I thought we could be friends!" She let out a long, wordless shriek, and kept screaming, stomping her foot against the floor over and over.

The monster started shifting, snorting foul-smelling air close to Sabrina's face.

"Puck," she said softly, "I think now might be a good time to-"

Puck nodded and pulled out his wings.

That set the girl over the edge, and she threw herself at him, beating his chest with her fists, still screaming. Puck tried to fight her off while Sabrina watched the scene from the wall, helpless, unable even to walk closer to him.

The monster, seeing his mistress' tantrum, let out a loud roar and started forwards, at Puck and Sabrina.

She scrambled backwards, calling Puck's name in warning, sure she was about to see him get eaten.

Time seemed to slow down.

The monster shot forward.

Puck pushed the girl off his chest and she came back at him again.

And then Sabrina's world exploded in pain that overtook everything else, which faded slowly into blackness.

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><p><strong>AN~Extra-long chapter to make up for the absence. I'm going to ATTEMPT regular updates from now on. We'll see how things go (not to be a jerk or anything, but more reviews will mean more incentive for me to update).<br>**

**Feature: "just for laughs maybe lols" by sharpiemarkersgf  
><strong>Classic SG fanfiction, this is one of the very old fics in the archive. It's kind of adorable and pretty dang funny.

**Some Review Replies:**

A: **I've promised multiple times that I won't abandon my stories, and if you have that little faith in me there's nothing I can do. I updated once a week during the school year. You want me to do that again during the summer when I want to not be on the computer? Your... 'compromise'? I think it's supposed to be a compromise. Anyway, you're not giving up anything and I'm giving up everything. Plenty of people normally update less often than I do on a hiatus. (If you don't read anything but the Puck and Sabrina bits that's your call, but I hope YOU realize that this is my story, not yours. I mean, I love my readers, and I'm grateful for every review. But in the end I'm writing this for me. Not for you. If you don't read all of you'll miss out on the plot because I set out to build a world and see what would happen to the WHOLE Sisters Grimm plot if I wrote it in that world, not to write about Puckabrina, since there's more to the series than just them. 'Course, if you're skipping bits you're probably not here for plot anyway, which means you should go read some oneshots.)**

anonymousette: **Thanks very much!**

Dogers13: **Really? What kind of area do you live in? It must be a pretty bad one. My parents let me outside on my own when I was like eight as long as I told them where I was going, and once I was in my teens they were fine as long as I was back for dinner.**

Guest 1: **Thanks for being so understanding. It was... almost two months. Charming was ridiculously fun to write.**

Guest 2: **I wrote more!**

Guest on chapter 2: **Thanks!**

Guest on chapter 3: **Maybe your house is haunted?**

Guest 1-2-4: **That's what I'm calling you now. If you haven't read all the books that's okay but I'm still not going with that ending. 'I know you love me' makes MUCH more sense than 'I now you love.' I'm planning a different Puckabrina track than the books had, mostly because they're older and more mature now. They can both be irritating, yes. Daphne and Mustardseed don't have anything between them because Daphne's SEVEN there, but I don't really see it in the future, either. You should maybe not be reading this if you haven't read all the books because I work in things from everywhere.**

iam3picerthanu: **The Scarecrow is the Scholar that's living in Magica right now.**

Julianna: **That review was really hard to understand and I think I didn't actually get it. I don't have an iPod so I don't know what it's like to type on one, but I'll assume it's difficult.**

lalaland12343: **So you DON'T like the names. Okay. I kind of had to for Sneak and Trickster to make it work right. I'll work on adding depth to the minor characters. Glad you liked everything else!**

Miss Anonymous: **I love being outside. It is awesome. The internet has none of what outside has (which is good when we're talking about spiders, though). Thanks. :) I noticed in the books that while Puck IS a very vulnerable character, he doesn't have any obvious fears. So I gave him one. There WILL be Puckabrina. In fact, I think it picks up next chapter (see the thing I think is, what's the point of getting them together early on? Romantic tension is way more fun than actual romance).****  
><strong>

SilSha:** (There isn't really a right or wrong answer to the QotD, so not sure how it can be easy...) Are you sure? Are you SURE? Because towards the end of book nine she started making some pretty intense plans. There was no charging without thinking in getting most of the Scarlet Hand in that castle. Sneaking is, by nature, a thinking thing. I mean, that's a great quote, but are you sure? Because characters have to grow and change. That's what makes them interesting.**

Yesh:** Well, yeah, kind of. It might take a bit of getting into September first, though. (I generally assume English is someone's first language if they're speaking it, just fyi. It looked kind of funny when you said 'sorry for mistakes, English is my first language.)**

*What is pairing bashing, you may ask (refer to the QotU up top there)? It is NOT disagreeing with a pairing. It IS saying something that might hurt someone who DOES ship that. So 'EW, DAPHNExRED? That's disgusting!' isn't okay, but 'I don't ship Daphne with Red because there's textual evidence that Daphne is straight' is okay. And I will accept process of elimination answers. Like 'I ship DaphnexOC because I don't like any of your options for the following reasons' is an okay answer. Likewise, though, 'I don't ship Daphne with Mustardseed because that's for uncreative losers' is NOT an okay answer. Neither is 'But Wendell, Tiny Tim, and Toby are way too old for her!' okay (particularly for Daphnerseed shippers). 'I don't ship Daphne with Pinocchio because I feel like they'd be more like cousins or a brother and sister' is a perfectly okay answer, though. Basically, just try not to offend anyone, okay?


	32. Never Again

**AN~ I have a feeling you guys will like this chapter. Hope I'm right. :)  
><strong>

QotU: Ask me a question. The crazier the better.

**Old QotU Winner: Ummm... Well, honestly, more than one person. yorkie999777000 because GIRL POWER and FEMINISM which are great things (Pixar's Brave, anyone? Girls don't need to get married!), tomasgurl39 who had a reason that was actually PLAUSIBLE and not totally AGAINST the girl power thing for DaphnexMustardseed, forgotmypassword because reasons, and FireworksChimps because WendellxDaphne is a pairing that needs more love. Was that cheating, picking like half the people who answered the question?  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Puck saw the monster reach Sabrina. He saw it, and he couldn't do anything about it because the crazy little brat was throwing herself all over him.<p>

She was going to die.

Sabrina was going to die and she was never going to know how he felt about her. She would die without rescuing her parents, without seeing her sister or her grandmother again, without winning this war. That was all important, yes. But all that he could think about was that she was going to die thinking that he hadn't wanted to marry her.

And suddenly, he knew that couldn't be allowed to happen.

With a sound somewhere between a yell and a growl rising from his throat, Puck threw the crazy girl off him so hard that she landed on the table, destroying it and sending down a shower of broken china. She landed with a squeal that got the monster's attention. While the giant thing was distracted, Puck attacked.

He didn't remember the exact details of the fight, afterwards. He remembered pulling out his sword and going at the thing with a ferocity he'd never experienced before, and he must have grabbed Sabrina from its claws at some point, because soon after he found himself flying full-speed back the way they'd come, his fiancee in his arms.

He heard the cold wind rushing past his ears, and he heard monsters in the dark, but he didn't care. He didn't even care when he felt the tunnel closing in on him and his wings brushed against the edges of the rocks. That terror was small compared to this one, the feeling of this too-small girl in her ripped dress dripping blood on his arms, the knowledge that she was too cold for anyone, the way she didn't move, didn't even stiffen when he turned too sharply. Feeling her flopping like a rag doll against his body was worse than anything he'd experienced in his life.

Puck could fly very fast, when he wanted to. He didn't know how fast, but it must have been ridiculous, because he found himself out in the sunlight of the Tracks in no more than a few hours after he'd begun.

He burst out of the tunnel and flew up, not caring who saw him, rushing in the direction of the capital city now. He needed Cobweb, and he needed him now.

It was getting light again (he'd flown through the night) by the time he reached the castle. From there it was an agonizingly slow trip to Cobweb's rooms. He made it, though, exploding in on the sleeping physician and babbling something as he shoved Sabrina towards the bleary-eyed man.

Cobweb seemed to understand him, though, and he took Sabrina from his king's arms gently. "I'll see what I can do," was all he would say, and then he forced Puck out of the room.

And then all there was to do was wait.

And go see Mustardseed. He should probably do that, too.

But then he'd go back to worrying about Sabrina.

Puck walked off in search of his brother, his fingers drumming against his leg.

* * *

><p>When Sabrina woke up, she was lying on a bed in a brightly lit, clean room. Everything had a yellowish tint that made her think it was late afternoon. All in all, it was a pleasant place to be, with wooden paneling on the walls and plush furniture. She thought she could lie here quite pleasantly for a while.<p>

And when she shifted the tiniest bit, she decided that she'd better lie _still_, because it hurt incredibly to move, particularly her left leg, the opposite arm, and her ribs.

"You're awake," a familiar voice said.

Very slowly, Sabrina turned her head to look over at the speaker- Puck. He was sitting in a fat chair by her bed, his hands busy on the table with some book.

She smiled at him. That hurt too, actually. So she stopped smiling and tried to speak. Her voice came out in a rasp.

"Here," Puck said, putting down his book so that he could hand her a glass of water.

After she struggled with the water for a while, Sabrina managed to drink at last. Then she smiled at him, ignoring the pain, and said, "Thanks." Her voice was still hoarse, but she could talk now.

There was an expression very like concern on Puck's face as he watched her lying on the bed. He bit his lip, then went back to the book.

They were silent for a while. Puck seemed like he was going to concentrate on his book without leaving or saying anything.

Finally, Sabrina said, "This is the third time you've saved my life. And the second time I've woken up doctored after you brought me there. You'll have to watch out- people will think you actually _care_ about me."

She'd meant it as a joke, but the expression on Puck's face as he rounded to look at her again was so intense and angry that she was a bit worried, and almost wished she'd let them stay silent.

"Of course I care about you, you idiot!" Puck snapped. "I've cared about you for longer than I want to admit, and _how_ do you pay me back? You go and almost _die__! Again_!"

"I'm sorry," Sabrina said softly, trying to shrink away from him. It hurt, and she winced.

Puck's face softened, and he reached a hand towards her, almost like he wanted to touch her. Then he put it down, looking away. He didn't say anything.

"I don't mean to get in trouble so often," she said. "It just happens."

"I need you to stop getting hurt this badly," Puck said, still looking away from her. "I cant- I can't take it. You're too... Dammit, Sabrina, you make everything so _hard_! Couldn't you- Of course not."

"You're not making sense," Sabrina told him. It almost sounded like he was trying to tell her that he... but no, she wouldn't let herself think like that.

"And you don't even know what you're doing to me," he said, laughing ruefully. "You think you're just... Can't you see?"

"No, because you sound like you're senile," Sabrina said, trying to stay calm.

Puck opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He did this several times, then just sat there silently.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Sabrina prompted. "Say it clearly without dancing around it."

"I'm trying to- What I'm trying to say-" Puck started. His fingers began tapping away at his book. "The thing is-" He took a deep breath. "You scared the pants off me, almost dying like that. And I need you to not do that again because... because the reason you scared me so bad is that... I... don't... actually want to break off our engagement. After the war's over. I kind of want to actually..."

He trailed off. Sabrina didn't try to make him keep going this time. She was too dumbfounded. He... he actually fancied her back? That was what it sounded like he was saying. She wondered if he meant something else. Something about being a good king, or... Well, honestly, that was kind of unlikely.

"I knew it," he said, getting angry now. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything."

Sabrina still couldn't talk. She was processing.

"You can forget the whole thing," he told her. "It's fine. Go back to your Bradley."

That freed up her tongue, and Sabrina was able to say, slowly, a bit mystified, "I... don't want to go back to Bradley."

Puck, who'd been looking away, looked at her, frowning a little.

She gave him a little smile and said, "I haven't fancied Bradley since before I went home."

"Why not?" Puck asked.

Sabrina shrugged, then winced. She'd wanted to say 'someone else replaced him, but the wince had ruined it, so she glared at Puck and said, "Because I fancy _you_, genius!"

A grin spread its way across his face slowly. "You mean that?" he asked.

"No, I'm lying to spare your feelings," Sabrina said, rolling her eyes (that, at least, didn't hurt). "Of course I mean it! When have I ever lied to you?"

Puck shrugged and, with a smaller smile, said, "Never, I guess."

"Good," Sabrina said, smiling a little. "I'm glad that's settled."

Puck smiled a little, then he dropped the smile and glared at her. "Never do that again. Do you know how terrified I was? I thought you were going to _die_."

"I make no promises," Sabrina said.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight until you do," Puck said.

Sabrina tried very hard not to shrug as she said, "I doubt I'll be going anywhere particularly dangerous for a while. I'm not sure I can even stand up."

"Good," Puck said fiercely. "I'm not having you get hurt. Not right after we're actually... you know."

Sabrina smiled at him. It no longer mattered that she was sore and didn't even think she could move. It didn't matter that she had to relieve herself. It barely even mattered that her parents were still missing. Puck fancied her! He wanted to marry her! They were... something.

Puck was much closer now than he'd been before. In fact, he was kneeling by her bed. His head was very close to her face, and getting closer.

And then his lips were pressed against hers. It was nice enough, but... well, to be honest, it hurt quite a bit.

When he pulled away, she tried not to wince, but he saw anyway. "What?" he asked.

"It hurt," she said apologetically.

"We can try again," Puck suggested. Seeing the look on her face, he hurried to add, "Not now. Later. When you're better."

Sabrina's heart fluttered in her chest. He wanted- he _liked_- he- This was wonderful. Even if it had hurt.

"All right," she agreed. "We'll try again soon."

Puck smirked at her. "I knew you'd like it," he said smugly.

Sabrina gaped at him. "Why you stuck up little- If I weren't an invalid right now, I'd smack you for that!"

"You won't," he said, "Because you're too awed by how amazing I just made you feel."

"You made me feel in pain," Sabrina retorted. "Last I checked, that didn't mean amazing. It meant bad."

"You wouldn't want to do it again if you didn't like it," Puck pointed out.

"How do you know?" Sabrina demanded. "I could feel bad for your pathetic kissing skills and just want to try again so I could help you do a better job."

"Oh, because you're so much more qualified to be a good kisser than I am," Puck snapped.

"I bet I am!" Sabrina challenged. "How many people have you kissed?" She wasn't quite sure she was right about this. After all, she'd only ever kissed Bradley and him. This was really her second kiss in her life. She was hit by a bit of anxiety. What if Puck had kissed lots of girls? What if _she_ were actually the horrible kisser and _he_ was experienced? What if he didn't actually like her all that much, or want to marry her?

She stomped on that thought, ignoring it. Puck might be popular with the girls in Trickster, but he hadn't shown any interest in any of them. He was too immature to treat the girls as anything other than playthings. And besides, he wouldn't have said he wanted to keep the engagement going if she was just one in a line of girls.

Unless he'd changed his mind after finding out how she kissed.

He was speaking, now, interrupting her thoughts and answering her question. He wasn't looking at her, and he said, "Two."

The way he said it made her think maybe he wasn't being quite honest. She raised an eyebrow, ignoring the pain of stretched skin as she said, "Really. Me and who else?"

He mumbled something under his breath.

"What's that?" she asked, starting to smile now. "I couldn't quite catch that."

He didn't say anything.

"You know your mom doesn't count, right?" Sabrina teased.

Puck flushed and snapped, "It wasn't my mom!"

"Who was it, then?"

"It was Moth, okay?" Puck burst out. "I didn't want to, but she threw herself at me and I couldn't duck in time."

Sabrina snickered. "Wow. At least both my kisses were consensual."

"Mine were-" Puck started, then stopped, looking at her face. "What does consensual mean?"

"It means we both wanted them," Sabrina explained.

"Oh," Puck said. He went back to his book, looking very embarrassed.

"What are you doing?" Sabrina asked. She figured changing the subject might help him feel better.

No such luck. "Nothing," he muttered, turning even more red in the face.

All right then. She tried again. "Where are we?"

That one he was willing to reply to. "We're in the Wrong Side of the Tracks," he said. "It's the safest place to be right now. Cobweb came with us, and some guards just in case."

"How long have we been here?" she asked.

"Three days," he said. "You lost a lot of blood."

He'd looked back up at her while he was telling her where they were, but now he was staring resolutely at the wall, and he swallowed. His face was tight and pale.

She thought about apologizing again, but decided against it. After all, it wasn't as if she'd _meant_ to almost die.

There was a knock on the door, and then Cobweb came in.

"Well," he said, smiling down at Sabrina. "I see you're awake. How do you feel?"

"Awful," Sabrina confessed.

"Yes," Cobweb agreed, "that's a general reaction to Jabberwock attacks."

"Is that what that thing was?" Sabrina asked. "A Jabberwock?"

Cobweb nodded, coming over to her and pulling the blankets off her body. "Let's have a look-see, shall we?" he asked, beginning to unwrap the bandaging on her arm. "Jabberwocky are awful monsters from a land one can't reach by any means that aren't magical- fortunately, one would think, if they have beasts like that. The place has been sealed off, and not many people know about it, so it's not surprising you haven't heard of these creatures. Titania says there's only one way to kill them, and we haven't got it."

"So I guess we can't go back to get my family, then?" Sabrina asked. She didn't really care much about the monster's history at the moment.

Puck had been watching Cobweb's actions, hovering over his shoulder, his fingers drumming against his thigh again. "Don't break her any worse, okay?" he interrupted. "I need her back to normal so I can start driving her crazy again."

"Relax," Cobweb told him. "Let me do my job." He spoke to Sabrina again, saying, "That would probably not be wise." He'd finished unwrapping her arm and said, "Well. This is healing better than I thought it would. We may not even have to resort to magical means. I assume-"

Sabrina shook her head. "I... I can't. Magic and I... Well. It doesn't end very well." She hoped he wouldn't press for details.

"Ah," Cobweb said, and the knowing look on his face both embarrassed and relieved her. "Perfectly reasonable. That will make your healing take much longer, of course, but I never heal anyone by magic unless it's the only way to save them. You are far too healthy to need that kind of treatment. It's only a matter of time."

Sabrina understood that. She'd broken bones before. And she was glad she didn't have to talk about the way the power of magic drew her in until she couldn't let it go.

"How long will it take before she's better again?" Puck asked. He'd gone back to his seat and the mysterious book, but he was still glancing over at her now an again anxiously. It made her heart beat a little faster in her chest every time he did- he was worried about her! He cared about her, he wanted her to be well.

In fact, she could practically ignore the pain coming from her arm where Cobweb was prodding and twisting it because of this. The knowledge that Puck cared about her was so very _relieving_. She hadn't mooned over him like a lovesick puppy, but she'd been mildly tortured by the way he treated her as if they were barely friendly, as if she were as much an annoyance to him now as he'd been to her when they met, by his many, many tricks. She'd also been upset because they were going to go their separate ways- or not, but she'd imagined he'd always wish they had. And now? Well, now all that was gone. They could be happy together- Possibly. Probably they would still irritate each other to no end, and most likely they would argue a lot. But he would still _care_ about her while they were doing it. And that made the prospect of waking up with gunk in her hair every morning for the rest of her life almost something to smile about, because it would be gunk put there as a sign of love (her subsequent beatings during sword fights would also be a sign of love, of course).

Cobweb was answering Puck, saying, "It could be anywhere from three weeks to six months. I'd say Sabrina will be under the weather for about a month and a half to to months, though- as long as she doesn't use the arm too much."

"What about my leg?" Sabrina asked. She could do things one-handed. There was not much she could do trapped in her bed.

Cobweb smiled at her. "That one you'll need to use to improve it. You ripped through the muscles, but it's been long enough that it's about time for you to begin stretching your leg again."

"Oh thank goodness," Sabrina said, "I'll be able to do something, at least."

"Yes," Cobweb said, beginning to wrap her arm again. "But first you'll need to sleep."

"I've done nothing but sleep for three days!" Sabrina protested.

"And you need more sleep to heal effectively," Cobweb pointed out. "So you will either sleep now or I will have to do something drastic."

Sabrina sighed. "Fine," she muttered.

Cobweb smiled at her, then stood, ushering Puck out with him. The door closed behind them, and Sabrina was left alone.

She still had to pee.

* * *

><p>Something Puck had forgotten to mention to Sabrina was that one of their volunteer guards was Moth.<p>

"How could you not tell me that?" she demanded upon finding out (Moth had been the one to help her to the bathroom, because she was one of the only available females who was willing- her ulterior motive was to threaten Sabrina while seeming totally happy that she was healthy).

"Sorry, but I was busy being glad you were alive!" Puck defended himself. "Next time I'll tell you all the bad news right when you wake up, will that make you happy?"

"No, but I'd rather know than be surprised like that!" Sabrina snapped back.

Puck rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the air as he walked off.

Sabrina sank back to sulk- there wasn't much else she could do at the moment.

In fact, her next month would have been quite boring, if it weren't for Puck. She built her leg back up to working order while remembering how to do things one-handed again. She wrote several letters to her grandmother, her sister, Jonas, and anyone else she could think of. She exercised for increasing amounts of time each day. She avoided Moth as much as possible. She researched Jabberwocky and other monsters, to prepare herself for when she would go back in to get her parents- because she _would_ go back, even if it was probably suicidal. And to break up this monotony, she spent time with Puck.

Of course, most of the time she spent with Puck he was trying to convince her that she was an idiot for wanting to go back, but she was determined. And she enjoyed these new kinds of arguments with him. To an outsider, they might not appear much different, but to Sabrina, they were much better. Now it was banter; they were bickering as a sign of affection, not out of hatred. And now she could enjoy any time spent with him, even if they were fighting. After all, she'd fallen for him while they were fighting, and she didn't see why she couldn't continue to fall in love with him while they kept fighting.

The problem was that she couldn't win the argument officially, no matter how determined she was, because she didn't have the weapon. There was a particular sword that would kill a Jabberwock, and she did not have it. So no matter how hard she trained, no matter how much better she felt, she was still defenseless.

And then, shortly after her splint was removed and she was given a clean bill of health, a package arrived. Nobody knew where it had come from or who had sent it, or even when it had gotten to the castle, but there it was: a long, thin package wrapped in oilcloth, with her name on it.

She unwrapped it and pulled out the oddest weapon she'd ever seen. It was a sword- she supposed. But it was shaped all wrong, too short, thin and twisted as if whoever forged it had gotten frustrated and attacked it so that it would never fit into any sheath again. It was the Vorpal blade- the one weapon that would kill a Jabberwock. And it was right in front of her.

"Is that-" Puck asked.

Sabrina nodded. Then she turned to her fiance and gave him a fierce smile as she said, "We're going back."

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ This chapter is kind of extra long, but this was THE best place to stop it so I had to. You guys don't mind, right? And the Puckabrina is probably a good thing, too. Don't know how good a job I did on it, I wanted it to be more intense than I think it turned out to be. Thoughts?<br>**

**Feature: "Prisms" by lilumvallis  
><strong>This story is just beautiful, really. It's a Puckabrina thing that, while it doesn't have much in the way of a plot, feels very serene. It's got introspective oneshot-things in it that are perfectly gorgeous. I love it very much.

**Some Review Replies:**

1-2-4: **You know you can put your name in the bubble above where you type your review, right? Mustardseed's age doesn't bother me. My parents are five years apart. But the fact that Daphne was seven then means there's no romance because that's way too young. By the time she's twenty, that won't look like much time at all. I just don't see their personalities working out.  
>I'm glad you liked the thing about the cats. :)<strong>

A: **Ease up on the sarcasm, would you? And don't blame me for the fact that other people have abandoned their stories.**

FireworksChimps: **I'm glad you liked that. :) It was fun to put in. I'm sorry about the cliffy. Did this make up for it? (I don't read very many in-progress fics because of this too.)  
>I think it's because once they're together... Fine. They're together. Now what? I also hate spiders and am glad you like Puck's vulnerability.<br>You can totally put it on the wiki. :) Thanks for asking. I'm flattered.  
>QotU: That is a VERY interesting take on it. I think she and Wendell would have so much fun together. I can't go with the Shrek gingerbread man because we've met the gingerbread man (book four) and he's a jerk.<br>Basil IS here. He's been vaguely mentioned a few times, but that's it. Mostly because 'her parents and her brother' is really cumbersome to write over and over and 'her family' isn't accurate because Daphne and Relda aren't there.**

forgotmypassword: **I'm sorry you forgot it. Can't you have it sent to your email? Those are all pretty great reasons. :) I like them. (I also think it would be really funny for Daphne to smack him upside the head every time he gets the stick back up his rear end.)**

ftgyhiuio:** Um... What? Did your cat sit on your keyboard?**

Gurl: **Thanks so much! I didn't quite follow all of your review, but what I understood made me happy.**

JesusLover: **Well, I updated in less than twenty-four hours after your review. Does that make it okay?  
>Thanks!<br>QotU: AH-HAH! (Sorry, it's just that my theory is that VERY few people would ship DaphnexMustardseed if it weren't for Lara D. And FtFT isn't about Daphne and Mustardseed, it's about other people wearing their names, so it confuses me how this leads to shipping them.)**

rani:** It's not exactly a book yet, but thanks a lot! :D**


	33. Sabrina's Adventures Underground

**AN~ ... So... um... hi. Yeah. Sorry about last week, guys. There were... things. That happened. That were not good. I had two papers to write, and I had other homework, and then there was trouble with my mom and that was awful and then I LOST MY LAPTOP CHARGER and had a fiasco trying to find it... So that's why this is almost a week late.**

QotU: You're taking a cruise. Who goes with you and why? Where are you going?

**Old QotU Winner: Alapest who asked if I would never wash my sheets or never wash my towels again. I'd never wash my sheets. I can always take a bath before bed.  
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><p>Sabrina, Puck, and a contingent of Tricksters who had insisted on coming to help them with the rescue, were all back in the hall of monsters, deep inside Magica's capital city. And, while it was nice to know she had backup, Sabrina was really annoyed by all these other 'soldiers.' They were just so <em>loud<em>. And she'd though Puck was bad.

As yet another Trickster stubbed his toe and started cursing, Sabrina slapped her hand to her face in frustration. Really, how hard was it to walk without making any noise?

"Calm down," Puck said, elbowing her lightly in the stomach as he grinned at her. "We're just walking. Don't flip out."

Sabrina bit her lip to keep from smiling back at his dimly lit face. Once she was sure she had her face under control and was done feeling like a weak, ordinary girl in love and back to feeling like the youngest queen of the Sneaks in over a century, she hissed, "They need to be quiet. We're going to get eaten."

Puck shrugged. "You know we weren't all trained to be invisible like you, Grimm."

"I don't need them to be invisible," Sabrina muttered, "I need them to be inaudible. And fast."

Puck was silent for a bit, as scuffling noises continued from behind them and growling sounds picked up elsewhere. "You know what?" he said. "This isn't working."

Sabrina had heard that tone before. She'd also seen that expression. Neither of them were reassuring. "What are you plan-" she started to ask.

But Puck was already shouting. "Hey, loony!" he called. "We're back! Call your monsters off, would you? We just want to talk! Maybe play your crazy little games with you again!"

"What are you doing?" Sabrina hissed. You're gonna bring everything in here down on us!"

Puck, who'd finished yelling, shrugged again. "They were going to find us anyway." He smiled that beautiful and infuriating grin at her again and said, "It's part of being a Trickster. You learn to change plans fast when they're not working out."

"And what if _this_ plan doesn't work out?" Sabrina demanded. "What if she doesn't come? Or worse, what if she does come and then she sics her 'kitty' on us again?"

"Then we do something else," Puck said. "But listen- I think it is working."

There was a flapping noise that drew closer and louder, and then the Jabberwock landed with a thump in front of them. The little girl was sitting on its back.

"Hello," she said. "You tried to steal my family."

"Actually we kind of didn't," Puck said. "We just mentioned Sabrina's family and you flipped out."

The girl glanced at Sabrina, her expression flat. "I thought you'd be dead," she said. "When I get mad, the kitty kills the ones I'm mad at. Why aren't you dead?"

"I'm hard to kill," Sabrina said.

The girl shook her head and said, "You shouldn't ruin other people's games. They won't want to play with you anymore."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sabrina said, fighting to control her voice. She wasn't sure whether to laugh at this girl or back away because she was not normal and it was giving her shivers.

Puck, apparently, was very much decided that he wanted to laugh. She could hear it in his voice as he said, "Is that why you're here alone?"

The girl glared at him. "They ruined my game," she said, "I didn't ruin theirs."

Sabrina elbowed Puck in the stomach to get him to shut up before he ruined this. He winked at her, apparently sure that he had this entirely under control. She wasn't so positive.

"What did you want to talk about?" the girl asked. "Did you want to apologize and play again? You brought a lot more friends this time."

Puck started to say something. Sabrina cut him off, saying, "Yes, we wanted to say we were sorry, and we wanted to play the game again." She was very, very glad part of her training had included the ability to lie well.

"They can't all play," the girl said. "I only need a grandma and a doggy. Make them go away."

"Maybe..." Sabrina fought for an idea. "Could you be having a party?" she suggested. "Then everybody could play."

"But why would I be having a party?" the little girl asked.

"Because you have your whole family again?" Sabrina asked, grasping for straws.

The little girl frowned. "But you're not my grandma for real- you're just pretending to be her 'til she comes and finds me again. It's her turn to seek."

"I know, but it's pretend," Sabrina said, like this should be obvious.

The girl thought about this for a minute, then smiled. Her face wasn't any less creepy that way. "Okay," she said. "Let's go play!"

She patted the Jabberwock on the shoulder and it took off into the air again, leading them back the way she'd come. Apparently she assumed they'd follow her.

"What was that?" Puck demanded, as she flew off, rounding on Sabrina. "I thought our plan was simple: get in, kill the thing, grab your family, get out! We weren't going to play with the crazy girl! That was not part of the plan!"

Sabrina shrugged. "I thought you said that good Tricksters knew how to change plans when they weren't going to work. You changed the plan. I just made sure it would still work now."

She walked off after the monster. Puck gaped after her for a bit, then ran to catch up. The rest of the Tricksters followed behind. Sabrina decided that it was safe to unveil her lamp now, so she did. It didn't offer enough light for the whole group, but some of them had lanterns, too, so she figured they'd get the message and uncover their lights after they saw hers. There was no point in trying for secrecy now, after all.

It took a while, but at last they reached the area where the glowing orb floated in the air. The table, Sabrina noticed, looked much more worn than it had last time she'd seen it.

"What happened to that?" she asked Puck under her breath, nodding at the table.

"I threw her on it," Puck said. "After you blacked out. Maybe it was overkill, but I thought you were dead, and-"

Sabrina blinked at him. That was unexpected. And... surprisingly sweet. She wrapped an arm around his waist for half a second, then let him go. They didn't really show affection in public. In fact, even after that short hug she could still feel a blush rising to his face. But in the darkness, she couldn't tell if he matched her or not.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"No-" Puck cleared his throat. "No problem."

"I don't have enough tea cups," the little girl said. "You can't all have some." She handed out cups and plates to Sabrina, Puck, and a few other people.

Looking into her cup, Sabrina decided that she wished she hadn't been one of the 'lucky' people to get one. The tea inside it was black and sludgy, more like tar than a drink.

"Why are you so quiet?" the girl asked after a few minutes. "This is a party! Make noise! You're not good at this game."

The Tricksters obediently started milling around and talking. Sabrina wanted to go find her parents immediately, but the girl was watching her and she thought it might not be the best idea to go so soon. So, feigning innocence, she walked closer to the table, deciding to get a closer look at the light above it. The girl followed her.

"This is a very interesting light," Sabrina said.

"It was a present," the girl said. "From my real grandma."

"Well, your fake grandma likes it," Sabrina said, forcing a smile onto her face to look at the girl.

"It gets brighter," the girl said. "And darker. She made it in case I get scared of the dark- she didn't need to. I haven't been scared of the dark in a long time. But I use it 'cause I got tired of bumping into things."

Sabrina nodded like she had an idea of what the girl was talking about. "How much brighter?" she asked.

"I'll show you," she said, then she clapped twice.

The light got brighter and brighter until it almost blinded Sabrina, and she had to look away, and then it kept getting brighter, burning into Sabrina's retinas. Then the girl clapped three times and the light started to get dimmer again.

"It gets that bright," she said, "and brighter, too." she clapped one more time, and the light stopped changing in brightness.

"Wow," Sabrina said, "Your grandmother was good at magic." In the back of her mind, an idea was beginning to form. If she could just find out where her parents were...

"_I__s_ good at magic," the girl said. "Not was."

"All right," Sabrina agreed, "is good at magic." She turned back to the light, feeling the tiniest bit sorry for this deluded girl- she didn't know the child's exact backstory, but she was pretty sure no grandmother would let their grandchild live like this if she were alive. "Can anyone make this thing brighter?"

The girl nodded. "Why?"

"Just wondering- in case your kitty's scared of the dark." Sabrina had no idea where that excuse had come from.

The girl giggled. "Silly," she said, "Kitty can't clap."

"Oh," Sabrina said, "Whoops."

They were silent for a bit.

"How long have you been here?" Sabrina asked at last.

"I don't know," the girl said. "A very long time."

"And do you stay in here the whole time?" Sabrina asked.

She shook her head. "Oh no. Sometimes I go up and help the grown-ups with their choices, or we play games. I used to go out on my own to take kitty to play, but they didn't like that, so now I can only come out if I leave kitty behind."

Sabrina wondered how many people the Jabberwock had killed before the people in charge made that rule. But instead of saying that, she mentioned how hard it must be for the kitty to stay inside all the time. The little girl responded with a nod, an Sabrina kept making small talk until the creepy child apparently decided she was actually playing the game or something, because she wandered off to her other 'party guests.'

Sabrina waited a bit, then started pretending to mingle on her own, searching for any sign of her family as she did so.

At last, she stumbled on a bed in the shadows at the edge of the party. On it were a man and a woman, sleeping peacefully, and between them was nestled a chubby boy. She'd found them. After nearly five years, her family was right in front of her.

Now she just had to get them out.

She was tempted to grab them and run- so tempted, in fact, that she had to dig her fingernails into her palms to keep from doing it, and her muscles trembled as she forced herself not to move. It wouldn't do anyone any good if she messed this up now.

So she backed away, making a note of how to get back to them, and went in search of Puck.

She found him digging through a cabinet set into the rock wall, apparently searching for food. She bit her lip to hid an exasperated smile as she tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?" he asked irritably, spewing crumbs at her as he turned.

Sabrina didn't have to work to keep from smiling now. She made a face as she brushed crumbs off her dress and said, "We're here to get my family out, remember? Not to steal food."

"Hey, you were the one who suggested a party," Puck protested.

"Yes, and now we're pretending to be at a party while we finish the mission," Sabrina said. "And I've found them and I have a plan."

"Great," Puck said, "What is it?"

Sabrina whispered the plan in his ear. He gave her an incredulous look. "You really think that'll work?" he asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "It'll have to."

Puck pulled his mouth into a thin line, then shrugged. "All right, when do you want me to get started?"

"Not 'til I clap," Sabrina said. "Everyone has to know what's going on first, too. Start telling people- make sure they don't let her know, though." She nodded at the little girl, who was serving 'tea' to a Trickster.

It was agonizing to wait, telling Tricksters to spread the word one by one, making sure no one was left in the dark about what was going to happen. She did it, though. She wasn't going to lose anyone in here if she could help it. She didn't know how good the Tricksters were about keeping secrets, and if any of them got left behind and survived, she didn't want the Magicians to know what they knew.

Finally, everyone had been told. Sabrina worked her way close to her parents with three carefully chosen Tricksters. Once they were in place, Sabrina took a deep breath. She looked over at Puck. He patted his sword as he worked his way a tiny bit closer to the girl.

Sabrina breathed in again, for a long time. Was she ready for this?

She breathed out. Yes. She was.

In fact, she'd been waiting for this a long time.

Sabrina Grimm brought her hands up and clapped her hands together twice.

The light grew brighter, first slowly, then faster and faster. Sabrina closed her eyes against it. She heard several scuffling noises that were presumably the Tricksters doing what she'd told them. She herself reached out and snatched at the air in front of her. After three tries, she caught the glowing orb, the source of the light. It was icy cold, and she almost let it go again, but she held on with a hiss. They couldn't afford to leave this behind. It was their only safety net.

There was a shriek from the little girl- apparently Puck had pulled his sword out and was holding her back, like he was supposed to.

Still holding the orb, Sabrina began to run in the direction of the exit, fighting to keep a smile off her face. They would get out safe. Everything was going just like she'd planned.

Until it went horribly wrong.

There was a roar, and the Jabberwock's wings flapped overhead. Running, Sabrina still couldn't see what was happening, but she heard a high-pitched, demonic laugh, and a horrible tearing noise.

Then Puck screamed.

It was a sound like Sabrina had never heard before, a horrifying noise that made her heart go out to him, and then she remembered:

_She still had the Vorpal Blade._

Sabrina reached out until she felt something squish against her hand- an arm. She forced the orb into the arm, ignoring the protests, and shouted, "Keep moving! Get out!" Then she did something completely idiotic and thoughtless and brave- something Puck would have yelled at her for for hours, something her grandmother had tried to train her out of doing (think first, then act, Sabrina), the kind of thing that she'd never been able to stop herself from doing.

Sabrina ran back to save him.

She pulled the twisted, mangled sword out of her belt as she went, trying not to trip as she ran in the direction of that horrible laughter that was still going on, those _noises_ that were coming from that _girl_ and her monster tearing into _her_ fiance. No one was allowed to hurt Puck except her. That was the way the world worked. He was _hers_. And she would show that girl what happened when someone Sabrina loved got hurt.

She could smell blood in the air- metallic and sharp. Puck's blood.

The light was getting farther away now, and Sabrina could see shadows- one particularly large one was leaning over two small ones.

And then suddenly she was on top of that biggest shadow and she was plunging her sword into it.

The insane girl's laugh turned back into a scream. "No, no, no!" she shrieked. "No!"

"Shut up," Sabina snapped, stabbing the monster again. "You deserve this, and so does this thing."

The girl kept shrieking.

Sabrina pulled the blade out of the monster and said, "This is what happens if you hurt my fiance. Next time I won't just kill your pet, I'll kill you, too." She wiped the blade off on her skirt. "Stay away from my family, you little brat, or I will make you regret it every day of the rest of your life."

She leaned down tenderly, picked Puck up, and walked off.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ Well that was interesting. Hope it was worth the wait.<br>**

**Feature: "All The World's A Stage" by Archer Princess  
><strong>If you've read my fic 'TLTtmls' or iizninja's 'Kodak Moments' you'll like this. It's the same thing, but with a theme: theater. And she does it well.

**Some Review Replies:**

1-2-4: **You're welcome. :) I try to always respond to reviewers. Most people like it.  
><strong>**Those are all some pretty good thoughts about Daphne.  
>It doesn't annoy me the way you're responding to my responses- It would be nice if you talked a little more about the chapter, but you don't have to.<br>I just meant the 1-2-4 thing. Not your actual name.  
>That's some very good points in your second review. :)<br>Thank you for giving me leeway time to write, I really appreciated it.**

A: **Well, thank you for the backhanded compliment, then. :)**

Cynthia Darling: **Thanks! For the record, I generally update Thursdays (usually pretty late in the day). I'm not planning on super-mush-ifying the rest of the story. It's nowhere near as fun as confusion and angst. Don't apologize for a long review! I love long reviews!**

Fireworks: **You're very welcome. :) Glad you liked it (wasn't HORRIFICALLY OOC? So it was a little OOC?)!  
><strong>**Not quite sure what that means but okay. :)  
>I don't think I've ever read a story with that much tension where the characters DON'T get together at some point in the series. I also find that, in a lot of stories, the relationship gets pretty boring once they're together, because the writer doesn't know where to go with that afterwards.<br>They would be so cute together. Not the gingerbread man, though, because he's a jerk.  
>QotU: One type of food? Ever? Blueberries. Or stir fry. Or shish kebabs. I... honestly can't pick. I'm a foodie, and that's not an okay thing for me.<br>Well, your new name works fine for me.**

Guest 1: **I'm silly sometimes. Is that your QotU? Because it doesn't count if you don't say something about the chapter.**

Guest 2: **... Sure? Not quite sure how you get deep out of that, but we'll roll with it. :)**

Jen222:** I think they're probably actually IN a relationship now, since they're engaged and all. ;)  
>Daphne is just kind of chilling right now. Not much going on on that end. And the Vorpal Blade I can't tell you about because spoilers.<br>QotU: I would want... I think I'd pick an Alicorn (unicorn with horns) because then it's basically a magic horse that can FLY AND it's a freaking UNICORN.**

SilSha:** It's okay. I missed you, though. I don't plan on making it sappy. It's all sticky and gross when that happens and you can't get it off afterwards. I want their dynamic to be interesting, but not super mushy.**

Trickster Queen:** So good things yes? Not like bad sappy? Because a lot of other people have suggested that sappy might be bad.  
>YES THE BEGINNING WORKED THE WAY I WANTED IT TO! Thank you.<br>So if you skimmed it how do you know it was sappy? Just pointing that out.  
>You're the only one who's said anything, so I think it might just have been that you weren't reading too closely, but I'll take a look and see if I can make it clearer.<br>Well, see, the thing about the hyphens is that fanfiction won't let me use them RIGHT. It's supposed to be a double hyphen with NO spaces around it, but fanfiction won't let me do that, so I have to use a single hyphen with a space after it because otherwise there's no difference between a conjoined word and a thought getting cut off. So the space after signifies the difference. I'm not going to put a space before because one is never supposed to use punctuation that is not attached to a word on one side.  
>QotU1: African or European?<br>QotU2: My reaction would be 'wow. I should probably not eat pizza right before bed anymore.' But it's honestly not that much more bizarre than a lot of my dreams, so I'd probably just move on pretty soon after.**


	34. Awake

**AN~ Holy freaking crapola, guys! In two chapters I went from under six hundred reviews to six hundred and a half! And how do I pay you back? By not updating very fast. I'm sorry. But THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. Seriously. Every single review I get makes me happy.**

QotU: What loose ends do I need to tie up? Whoever gives me the most things wins the prize of his/her choice, because I have like three chapters to finish this in and I don't want to leave anything floating around.

**Old QotU Winner: SilSha, the only one who answered it. She wants to go to England.**

* * *

><p>Puck had been out of commission for nearly a week, and Sabrina had spent the time alternating between being very, very angry at him, being angry at herself, and worrying about everyone.<p>

Her parents were under a sleeping spell- she'd assumed something like this must have happened to keep them from escaping. Her brother wasn't, though. He'd been drugged, and the drug had worn off. Basil had been her main distraction over the past few days. He didn't remember her.

He was staying with an orangutan nursemaid, along with several Trickster toddlers. They were all younger than he was, but he was happy there, even if he kept asking where his sister was. It made Sabrina ache inside because he didn't believe her when she told him that she was his sister, too.

Nobody knew how to wake her parents up. She'd written letters to her grandmother and her sister, but neither of them had an answer for her yet- Relda was too busy fighting a war, and Daphne had told her the only way she knew to end a sleeping spell was a kiss from a lover. Sabrina had tried shoving her parent's faces together in a pseudo-kiss, but it hadn't worked.

She'd rescued her parents and her brother, but somehow it didn't make her feel any better. Her brother hadn't wanted to be rescued- in fact, he wanted to go back. And her parents? Well, they didn't seem to care one way or the other. Things were just as bad as they'd always been.

In fact, they were worse. Because now Sabrina felt like an awful person on top of everything else.

She'd almost gotten Puck killed. She couldn't even blame him or really even the crazy girl. It was her plan that put Puck in the danger zone. Her plan that left him alone with an insane girl capable of who knows what and her incredibly loyal monster. And it was her stupid lack of forethought that didn't even give him the one weapon he could use to save himself beforehand. If she'd just _thought_ first, instead of going with the first plan that jumped into her head, she'd have known better. She could have had Puck turn the orb bright and run off with it. She could have turned it bright and just left it there, and stayed behind herself.

But no, she'd decided she knew best, and she'd almost gotten Puck killed.

She'd thought she'd gotten over this a while ago. Thought she'd moved on, grown up, and turned into a reliable person, and a good leader. Now? She wasn't so sure. Good leaders made sure everyone else was safe before they got themselves to safety. Her grandmother had taught her that.

She wondered when she'd turned back into such a complete monster.

Because it wasn't only how much she'd bungled her parent's rescue, or how she'd almost gotten her fiancé killed, or even that her brother didn't appreciate her rescue, though it was tied to that.

What bothered her most was how she'd treated that crazy girl her brother adored.

It was obvious she wasn't all bad, listening to her brother. He talked about 'big sister Red' constantly. She'd stopped trying to convince him she was his sister, but she couldn't keep away, so she went and just talked to him, trying to get him to trust her. And he told her about the girl. He wasn't afraid of her, and he wasn't mad at her. He loved her. And he knew she loved her kitty more than anything except him.

In fact, he made her feel like an awful person for taking away everything this girl loved. The way her brother made it sound, she was trying to bring back her family, and this was more important than anything else to her.

Oh, Sabrina wasn't overcome enough that she saw the light and realized how horrible she'd been to this girl and wanted to go rescue her to rehabilitate her. She wasn't that overcome.

But still, she found she couldn't get that Red's scream out of her head.

Because it wasn't really all that angry, looking back on it. It was heartbroken.

She knew because she'd wanted to scream just like that more than once.

She'd found that the best way to keep herself from being overcome with guilt wasn't to remind herself that this girl had had her parents- because that, now, wasn't so clear-cut. She didn't think the girl could have gotten her parents on her own. What kept her calm now was remembering how she'd laughed when Puck's wings had been ripped off. Because that wasn't pitiable. That was horrible- as awful as Sabrina herself had been, if not worse.

So she felt guilty, now, yes, but still justified.

But that wasn't important right now. What was important was that today was the day Puck was supposed to be healed.

She'd been technically staying in the Tracks since they'd come back, but it turned out there was another tunnel leading directly from the Tracks to the dungeons in the Wrong Side of the Tracks' castle (something about tricking whoever had put the person who dug the tunnel's jailer), so she'd come back up frequently.

At the moment she was sitting in Cobweb's temporary office with Moth (they hadn't been able to get rid of her), staring at Puck. He'd been wrapped in something purple, so thick that he looked more like a human-sized eggplant than a person, and it smelled disgusting. She thought it rather fitting for him. Cobweb had told her it was necessary because of the nature of his injury, and that this was his last resort treatment for people who wouldn't heal without the most extreme measures.

They sat there in silence, waiting.

Sabrina wondered if maybe Cobweb was wrong, if Puck would never be healed, if he'd be like this forever.

She glanced at Moth. The girl glared back, her pretty little narrow eyebrows drawing so close together they almost met in the middle.

Sabrina realized that she needed Puck more than she'd thought, in this anxious waiting time. She really and truly needed him, not just because he balanced her out, but because she'd forgotten how to live without him. She loved him, even.

She and Moth sat on their separate chairs, staring at the purple blob on the bed.

They waited.

They would wait for much longer, if they had to, these two girls in love with the same king.

Nothing moved.

And then there was a ripping noise.

* * *

><p>Jonas was running messages today. He'd made it to the main fortress of the Sneaks, the place where they were running out to attack the Magicians from, the place they went back to to be safe, for the most part.<p>

He didn't like it- he'd been here before, on tour with Sabrina and Puck, and he'd thought the hidden city in the cliffs was fascinating. Now he thought it was like being a mouse in a wall, with the cat just outside. Safety would only work well when there was also an escape. And he didn't know where the escape routes were.

The war was actually going fairly well, all in all. He wasn't sure they were winning, but they weren't being destroyed. It was hard to tell who was winning when there were very few actual battles and most of the fighting happened in the shadows, with a few Sneaks attacking a band of Magicians then running as soon as the enemy regrouped.

It worked much better for the Sneaks when they didn't get involved in actual battles. The same went for the Tricksters- they might have learned things, but they were in no condition for war. As long as they stuck to their traps and gadgets, they were fine. Put them in an actual battle, though, and they went down in droves.

They were holding, though, and even if he wasn't sure they were winning, he didn't think the Magicians could truthfully say they were winning, either.

He supposed that was the best he could look forward to, though.

This was beginning to look like it would be a very long war. He hoped something would change soon.

* * *

><p>The first thing Sabrina said to Puck when he emerged, dripping, from his cocoon-like purple mass, was "<em>You filthy little HYPOCRITE<em>!" The second thing she said was "I'm so sorry."

Puck, looking just equally confused and frightened by both of these reactions, just wrapped his arms around his fiance, who'd thrown herself at him without even pausing to cringe at how disgusting he was.

Moth glared at them both for a second, then let out a hiss.

Puck and Sabrina turned to look at her in unison, their arms wrapped very closely around each other. Strands of Sabrina's hair stuck to the goo that covered Puck.

"How. Dare. You?" Moth snapped, turning her glare fully on Sabrina. "You will regret stealing this, you nasty little thieving Sneak!"

Sabrina, not thinking clearly enough to keep her mouth shut, rolled her eyes and said, "I didn't steal him."

"I will make you pay," Moth shrieked. "He was mine!"

Puck laughed. "No I wasn't. I was never yours. And even if I'd ever fancied you- which I didn't- I don't now. Now I fancy Sabrina."

Sabrina pulled a few locks of her hair off Puck's face and smiled at him.

Moth, apparently unable to stand this, ran out of the room with a shriek.

Puck and Sabrina watched her go. They laughed a little, uncomfortably, and then Sabrina said, "I think we're going to regret that, sooner or later."

Puck shrugged, then turned to her. "We'll deal with it later. Tell me what I missed."

* * *

><p>Three days later, a woman with curly blonde hair appeared at the gates of the palace, asking for Sabrina. She would have been turned away or imprisoned if she hadn't given a fat package to a guard and asked that it be sent to the queen of the Sneaks before anything was done to her.<p>

Sabrina, on receiving this information and package, opened it to find a locket containing a portrait of her father, a note signed only with the letter J that said this woman was part two of a present beginning with a certain sword, and a second note.

The second note, which was somewhat longer, said _Dear Sabrina,_

_You could have been my daughter. I don't know if your father ever spoke of me- we were engaged decades ago. I won't go into the details, but suffice to say the engagement was ended and your father married someone else. I vowed to never approach your family again, and I've been traveling the world ever since._

_I would still be gone, but someone- he asked me not to say who- approached me, and told me of your situation. We believe I may be the cure. Will you see me?_

_Sincerely,_

_Goldie Locks_

If Sabrina _had_ heard about this woman from her father, she'd have immediately disregarded the woman as a fraud. But the locket, combined with the fact that her father had never told her about another woman, made it ring true. Her grandmother had hinted about someone else, someone affiliated vaguely with the reason her uncle had been banished, but the fact that Henry had never mentioned this Goldie made it seem like someone he could have had history with. And more than that, he hadn't told people, so it wasn't a rumor for someone to take advantage of.

She agreed to see the woman, and she took Puck with her.

When they made it up from the Tracks and into the palace, they saw a woman in her thirties, with golden blonde curls and childish blue eyes. She was sitting on a bench in the rose garden, ignoring the guards that surrounded her, and chirping quite contentedly at a small bird that rested on her finger. The bird was chirping back.

"You wanted to see me?" Sabrina asked.

The woman looked up and the bird flew off, and she smiled nervously at Sabrina. "Yes," she said. "I see you got my note?"

Sabrina handed her back the portrait, then turned to the guards. "I think I can take it from here, boys. Would you mind stepping out?"

The guards looked at each other, bewildered, and then turned to Puck. He nodded, so they shrugged and walked off.

Sabrina looked at Puck and said, "You too."

Puck raised an eyebrow at her. "You sure?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I can take care of myself," she told him. When he didn't move, she said, "Wait over there. I'll call you if I need you. But I need to talk to her alone."

Puck bit his lip, but walked off, fingers drumming against his leg.

"That was a bold move," the woman said, "I could kill you now."

Sabrina shrugged. "I can take care of myself. And this had to be alone." She sat down on the bench and looked directly into the woman's eyes. "Now. You have five minutes to convince me that you are who you say you are. Go."

* * *

><p>Puck was a little concerned about his fiancee's sanity. Here was this strange woman who'd showed up out of nowhere with a letter and a painting, and Sabrina just up and decided to <em>trust<em> her. After talking for five minutes. That was completely out of character and not smart at all.

Still, it was her parents she was gambling on, so he didn't comment as he followed her and her new best friend to the room Henry and Veronica Grimm were sleeping in.

Once there, the Goldi woman hesitated. She bit her lip, looking at Sabrina's father.

"Well?" Puck said, getting impatient. "Get on with it!"

"Puck!" Sabrina snapped, though he could tell she was impatient, too. She was bouncing the heel of one of her feet- a sure sign she was getting antsy. "Leave her alone," she said anyway, despite her overt impatience. "This is a tough time for her."

Puck rolled his eyes, but backed off anyway.

The woman crept closer to the two sleeping royals, then leaned down close to Henry's face. She took a breath, and pressed her lips to his.

Nothing happened.

"Umm..." Sabrina said, her face falling. "You could... try again?"

Now Puck was angry. At first he'd been flabbergasted that Sabrina trusted this woman, and suspicious, but now- She'd gotten Sabrina's hopes up, about something she really cared about, and she hadn't been able to follow through. It didn't matter if she'd done it to get in to kill them now, what was important was that she'd done it. She'd put that expression on Sabrina's face.

That was unacceptable.

Goldi kissed Henry again, and nothing happened- again.

"All right, that's it," Puck snapped. "Listen, lady, I don't know who you are or why you think you can lie your way in here, but you're getting out now, before you do any more harm."

"But- but-" she said, "I don't understand. I thought it would-"

"I don't care what you thought," Puck said, "You were wrong. Get out."

Sabrina looked like she wanted to cry. Puck was gratified when she didn't do anything to stop him, even when the woman looked at her beseechingly.

They were all walking out of the room, Puck tugging the woman roughly while Sabrina dragged her legs, when there was a sound from behind them- a groan, like someone stretching after waking up.

All three spun around.

Henry Grimm was sitting up in bed.

He was awake.

Sabrina let out a noise somewhere between a scream, a shriek, and an insane laugh which Puck assumed was meant to express happiness. She ran forward, jumping on her father, still letting out this noise, though now there seemed to be words mixed in, words like "can't believe," "finally," "so much," "you won't," "tell Daphne," and "daddy!" Puck let go of the woman's arm in shock- apparently she'd been telling the truth after all. She didn't move. Neither did he. He didn't know why she stayed put, but he, for once, wanted to actually give someone respectful distance. This man had been in Sabrina's life far before she met him. He wanted to let them have their moment before he went in and made a wisecrack.

Sabrina's flow of words was now paired with a series of hand gestures aimed at her mother. Henry apparently got the message, because he leaned down and kissed his wife on the lips. She woke up much faster than her husband, and Sabrina's shrieking, which had died off a little, intensified again to the point where it hurt Puck's ears.

Finally, she calmed down enough for her mother to say, "What is going on, Sabrina? Where are we?"

"You're- you've-" Sabrina started, then took a deep breath. "Well, it's a long story."

Puck and Goldi looked at each other, then both headed out the door in silent agreement. They'd give the family privacy for the rest of their reunion.

* * *

><p>When Sabrina emerged from the room, she was crying. Puck, who'd been waiting outside the doorway alone, stood up and tried, awkwardly, to wrap his arms around her. What was he supposed to do with a crying female? He could handle her when she was angry, but this-<p>

"No, it's okay," Sabrina said, and she smiled at him. "It's just- I'm just so _happy_."

Puck blinked at her. "You're happy, so you're... crying?"

Sabrina hiccuped, nodded, and beamed at him, tears still running down her cheeks. She grabbed his hand. "Would you like to meet my parents?" she asked.

Puck didn't really want to. He'd heard stories about the previous king and queen of Sneak. None of them made them sound like the kind of people he wanted to spend much time with. But he looked down at Sabrina's face and found himself nodding.

Sabrina smiled even wider (he hadn't thought that was possible) and led him into the bedroom.

Henry and Veronica were standing by the window, talking quietly. They looked up when Puck and Sabrina came in.

Puck looked at them closely. He noticed, for the first time, how very like her mother Sabrina looked. They had the same shaped face, the same features (mostly), and the same build. Sabrina was shorter, though not by much. She had her father's eyes, though, and his coloring and forehead- down to the frown lines that were there so often.

"Hello, Puck," Veronica said, smiling at him slightly. Her face was wet, too. "We've heard a lot about you."

Puck searched his brain for a witty introductory statement. All that came to mind was, "How much can you have heard? You've only been listening for like an hour." He almost smacked his forehead. That was unbelievably lame.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and dragged him forward. "An hour is plenty of time to tell them how annoying you are," she said.

Puck shrugged and said, "Not my fault my awesomeness is too much for words." There. That was much better.

Henry looked Puck in the eye and asked, "Have you been taking good care of my daughter?"

Puck snorted. "She can take pretty good care of herself when she's not stupid. But I've gotten her out of a couple of scrapes."

"Notice he doesn't mention how often he's the one getting me into trouble," Sabrina muttered.

Veronica laughed. Then she sobered up and said, "So. Now that we're all here, it's time to talk about serious things."

Puck groaned. Serious things were not his forte.

Sabrina gave him a look. He looked back. She continued to look at him, with the slightest amount of pleading in his eyes.

Puck held out for as long as he could, but eventually he caved.

Sabrina smirked at him.

Puck rolled his eyes and elbowed her in the stomach. She didn't have to gloat.

Henry cleared his throat. Puck and Sabrina looked up, and he raised his eyebrows at them.

"Can we get started?" he asked.

Sabrina flushed and nodded.

Puck leaned back in his chair and prepared to make the best of his boredom. He shot a look at Sabrina though, and smiled a little. At least she was happy now.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ Well? How was it? I was going to end this chapter a different way, but then I decided Sabrina deserved a proper reunion with her parents.<br>**

**Feature: "Waiting" by oOStarryEyedOo  
><strong>A very poignant oneshot set in book three, while Sabrina's in her coma and everyone is... dun dun dun... Waiting. Short and sweet.

**Some Review Replies:**

1-2-4: **Sabrina shall be in love with her fiance because it's too much fun for her not to be. :)**

A: **I am an adult. I'm a college student. Did you think I was, like, in my forties or something? I imagine that I'd bee too busy to write fanfics if I was that old.  
>Glad you liked the chapter!<strong>

Anonymous123: **I'm glad you like that!  
>Explain to me how you think Sabrina using dresses to her advantage is OOC, though? Because I don't see that. Sabrina's tough, but she's not such a tomboy that she won't wear a skirt. In fact, there are several times in the series when she's perfectly happy to wear them. So in a universe where almost all women wear skirts all the time, why shouldn't she wear skirts that are useful?<strong>

Cynthia Darling: **I always reply. :)  
>I don't think you told me that, but thanks for the compliment!<br>Mushy really annoys me so I try to avoid it unless I can't help myself.  
>Thanks so much, that compliment really made me happy.<strong>

Guest 1: **I'm glad. :)**

Guest 2: **Thanks!**

Ice Queen: **Good. Sappy is bad. Cute is not. I'm twenty. Why do you ask?**

Random: **I disagree with you about how harsh Sabrina was. Yeah, Red looks like she's Daphne's age, but that doesn't really mean much, honestly. Daphne's not crazy and she's never kidnapped anyone or tried to kill them. Sabrina's very harsh to Red in the books, even after she's sane. And this girl just tried to kill Puck, so Sabrina's not thinking 'oh this girl is a lot like my sister' (which she's not) she's thinking 'this FREAK just tried to kill my boyfriend!' See?  
>The Tricksters DID take Sabrina's parents. Red will continue to be crazy. She doesn't know where Granny and Canis are, so she can't exactly go after them (at the moment).<br>The war is still happening. Just not much where Sabrina and Puck are.  
>You'll notice that Henry and Veronica have been asleep every time we've seen them. Trust me, okay? It's hard to figure out your parents are under a sleeping spell and need to be woken up by your dad's old girlfriend if you haven't even known they were still alive for the past four years.<br>Scholar is coming, yeah. We'll get there next chapter probably.  
>I'm honestly not sure about my ending yet. I'm thinking my epilogue will probably be Sabrina and Puck's wedding, but I'm not sure yet.<br>Too fast how? Like what did you want to see more of? The story's almost over- there are less than five chapters left, by my estimation. When I edit I can add more in if you tell me what exactly is wrong with my pacing.  
>I found this review INCREDIBLY helpful, actually. It's nice to see that you're a conscientious reader, and while a lot of your points I've already got planned out, because if you're asking what's happened to the war it means I need to put more in about that when I edit this. Also the Red thing and the pacing.<strong>

SilSha:** 1. Because MAGIC.  
>2. Run when she turned the lights on.<br>3. Yes. Puck's wings are gone now.  
>Yeah I just gave up on that ending.<br>QotU: So... you'd bring Rebecca to England where she is?**


	35. Surprise Visitors

**AN~ I have no excuses other than this: I am a horrible human being and college is a b*tch. So yeah. This should have been up forever ago. Feel free to throw rotten tomatoes at me for taking so long. I won't run or hide.**

**In other news, it's time for Elligoat's Best Sisters Grimm Story contest again! Go check it out; nominations are closed, but she's putting up the list on the fifth, and you should vote!**

QotU: How should I make it up to you all that I was gone for so long?

**Old QotU Winner: RunnergirlI because she actually said things I forgot about and I remember them at this present moment.**

* * *

><p>Sabrina and Puck didn't have to wait very long to find out what Moth's revenge was. In fact, they were in suspense for less than a month.<p>

They'd moved back into the Tracks again, now that Puck was awake. Her parents were staying in the castle, but they were sending messages back and forth often. It wasn't safe for Sabrina and Puck to leave their hiding place, or for Sabrina's parents to leave the fortress. The war was still happening, and they were being told about it, but not much seemed to be changing. The four royals were waiting for winter, which would be coming soon. Then they would probably be able to go home and help. Battles petered off in the winter.

It was a chilly day when it happened. Inside the Tracks, it was impossible to tell if the seasons had changed because the only plants were some scrubby little evergreen trees, but Sabrina could taste the cold in the air, and in the river beside her campsite. She was taking a very cold morning bath while Puck still slept. They might have admitted their feelings to each other, but they were neither of them particularly comfortable with doing much more than holding hands.

And then there was a splashing noise behind her.

Sabrina spun around, searching for the noise. It wasn't Puck. He was in front of her. And nobody else should be down here.

Except, of course, for the hundred or so soldiers in Magician colors pouring out from the tunnel between this canyon and the next track.

Sabrina cursed herself. She should have expected this. She and Puck had gotten a little complacent after the first week back in their campsite. They'd meant to move every few days, but when nobody had come for so long, they'd thought they were safe.

Obviously, they'd been very, very wrong.

She dove under the water, swimming as fast as she could for the shore, grateful that she at least was still wearing her underthings. Being attacked was bad enough, she didn't need to be mortified at the same time.

Once she was at the bank, she ran for the campsite without turning around again, shouting for Puck to wake up.

When she reached him, _then_ she turned around. The soldiers were still coming out of the tunnel, and some of them were almost at the bank.

There were so _many_ of them! How on earth could they get out of this?

"What is it?" Puck grouched, pushing himself into a sitting position and looking over, bleary-eyed.

"We've got trouble!" Sabrina snapped, pointing urgently at the soldiers. "Get up now!"

Puck looked where she was pointing, and his eyes widened. "Holy-" he started, and a slew of words Sabrina didn't care to repeat spilled out of his mouth. He clambered out of his bedroll with a start.

Sabrina, meanwhile, had been digging through her things. As Puck's curses petered off, she arose with a handful of throwing knifes and a longer dagger. It wasn't much against all those people, but it was better than nothing. She tossed Puck his sword.

He caught it, and flashed her a smile. "Let's have some fun, huh?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "We're holding them back while we get away, idiot. This is not fun."

The first of the soldiers were one the bank now, running for the two teenagers in their shallow cave with their own weapons out.

"I think it's plenty of fun," Puck said, parrying the blow of one of the soldiers.

Sabrina didn't respond. She just threw a knife into the knee of an approaching soldier, then ducked under the arm of a closer soldier, slicing the tendons of his armpit as she moved forward, trying to get out of the cave. If they made it into the open air, Puck could fly them away.

"Come on," Puck prompted, still slicing with his sword, now fighting against three different people. "You have to be having some fun. You've been itching to do something for days now."

Sabrina refused to smile, even if he was a little bit right. This was too important for him to make a game out of it, and she wasn't going to encourage him.

She ran forward and jumped, sending a kick simultaneously into the sternum and kneecap of one attacker, making sure he couldn't breathe or stand. She didn't want to kill these people. From what Daphne said, most of them were just acting under orders. But she did need them out of commission.

For a while, it looked like Sabrina and Puck would make it out. In fact, they fought so well that they'd made it into the clear air, and they were together, just ready to take off.

Then the wizards came.

Everyone in Magica had a bit of their own magic. Maybe they weren't all really good with it, but all of them had a bit. Over time, though, a lot of them had stopped using it, and they were only staying in Magica because they were too different to live anywhere else. Generations of magic-users had warped their children, so some could change into animals, and others, like Puck, had wings. Many of them were ordinary people who simply looked like freaks.

But some of them still wanted to be skilled at all kinds of magic. They were the wizards.

And the council of Magica had sent wizards after Puck and Sabrina.

They never had a chance.

Sabrina guessed she should have been flattered they thought she was so important, but as a magical net surrounded her and Puck, she was just furious. She had important things to do! And being kidnapped put a damper in those plans.

Two people stepped out of the crowd. Sabrina didn't recognize one of them, though she was sure he was important from the way the soldiers parted away from him. The other was Moth.

"Traitor," Sabrina muttered.

"If I can't have him, then nobody can," Moth snapped at Sabrina.

"Is this them, then?" the man in charge asked Moth. "I've never seen these so-called royals."

Moth nodded. "These are the Trickster King and the Queen of the Sneaks, as promised. You, though, have a promise of your own to keep."

The man nodded and looked at Puck. "You've got a choice, boy: you can join us- I hear you've Magica blood. Or you can come face your trial with her." He nodded disdainfully at Sabrina.

Puck laughed. "You're kidding, right? I may not be much of a ruler, but you guys are worse, and there's no way I'm just sitting back and letting you take over my kingdom."

Moth glared at Sabrina and hissed, "I know you are responsible for this."

Puck laughed again and said, "Nah, she's just a bonus. I'm a king, Moth. There are things that are more important than girls. And this is one of them."

On hearing that, for the first time since Sabrina had met Puck, she admired him. Sure, she'd been fond of him, found him funny and attractive, but now she saw something to be proud of in him. She fell for him even more.

This was also the first time she'd actually thought that he might make a good king, but now that she actually turned her mind to the idea, she was pretty sure he'd be great at it. He loved his people, after all, and he was smart, when he tried, and he had his priorities in the right order.

But this was not the time to be thinking of things like this. If they couldn't get out of this situation, Puck would never have a chance to really _be_ king. Sabrina forced her mind off her fiance and back onto the present situation, ignoring the irony of her pride in his priorities proving how off her priorities wanted to be.

Moth, meanwhile was glaring daggers at Sabrina, trembling. "Fine!" she shouted, turning to Puck. "Have it your way! I tried to save you, but you wouldn't have it! Well, don't come crying to me when they execute you!" She turned back to Sabrina. "I told you I'd have my revenge," she snapped.

"You have witheld your end of the bargain, then," the man told Moth. "Now please leave me to do my work; we're finished here."

Moth suddenly looked bereft. "But... what do I do now?" she asked softly.

"What does it matter to me?" the man asked, his voice completely without warmth. "Go back to your people, come with us to Magica, it matters not- either way, you will be a Magician subject soon enough. Now leave us."

Moth bit her lips, stiffened her back, and walked away slowly, muttering under her breath about ungrateful men with heads too big for their shoulders. Sabrina would have smirked if she wasn't so sure she was about to die. It served her right, the filthy little traitor, to learn that she wasn't nearly as important as she thought she was.

The man turned to them, and his face was so expressionless that Sabrina was sure she was going to die, right then, in her underwear. She wasn't sure she could bear the indignity.

He held his hand up, a wand clutched in it. The wand began to spark and sizzle with blue light.

Sabrina sqeezed her eyes shut. She felt Puck's fingers twine between hers, and she sqeezed them, too. This was it- the end. There would be no winning the war for her, no seeing it through. She'd never see her sister again, or her grandmother. But at least she'd seen her parents and Basil. At least she'd had Puck, for a little while.

Sabrina felt a painful jolt hit her in the chest, and then there was nothing.

* * *

><p>Pinocchio had finally reached his dream. He was in Scholar, enrolled in a university, he had a job washing dishes to pay for his education, and for the first time, he was surrounded by people like himself, people who wanted to learn and loved it.<p>

So why wasn't he happy?

_Daphne loved to learn, too_, a stray thought reminded him. He ignored it and turned back to his latest book.

At the moment, the former Magician was studying Mathematics. It was never something that had been paid particular attention to in Magicia, but he'd learned that here, Scholars considered it the building block of all sciences. And Science was about as far from magic as he could get, so Pinocchio wanted to learn as much about it as he could. Science was the way the world worked, without people forcing it into their own views. It was hard cold facts and it fascinated him.

The most beautiful thing about Scholar was that he was barely behind. Up until they were ten or so, Scholar children received a basic education that, while more rigorous than most, was still similar enough that, with his extra studying, he was only about a year or two behind. And the Scholars loved learning so much that they were more than happy to accept him into their ranks and share their learning with him. And everyone here was so excited because they were studying what they wanted to focus on, instead of all the subjects under the sun, that he was caught up in their flow of learning, swept away in the glory of it all.

Until he was alone. Then his depression came back.

He was in the Library right now. They all called it _the_ Library, as if there was only one, although he was certain every street had at least one library or book shop. But he knew why this one was referred to as the only one. This was the central library of the capital city of the largest island in the Scholar archipelago. It was eight whole stories of books, each individual one focused on a different subject.

Across the street was the Forum, where the Scholars debated everything from the newest laws (Scholar had no king, only an open forum of people putting ideas forth to a council in which everyone must serve at least two years) to translations of an ancient text. And around it, stretching nearly half a mile, in neat criss-crossed streets, were the schools: whole buildings dedicated to learning. Outside the schools, in a loose ring around the edge, were things like shops, marketplaces, and houses. No sales were allowed in the center of the city, though there were restaurants like the one in which Pinocchio worked.

The Library was his favorite place to be, outside the classroom. When he was learning, he could push aside how he was feeling, which was much easier than dealing with his emotions. Emotions were far less important than knowledge. It was why he'd done what he did, after all.

But he was't going to _think_ about that. He was going to study the library, take in every detail of its design.

The best thing about the design was that it had terraces. Scholar was a fairly warm place, being further south than all but the southernmost tip of the other Tradeskingdoms, and the Library was far enough inland that it was relatively safe from the wild storms that came through regularly. So the Scholars had designed the room so that the people using it could enjoy the weather while they read. Thus, each room opened onto a large terrace. These terraces connected with each other, large outer rings on the edge of the library. These eight terraces, as well as the rooftop, were peppered with potted plants and durable benches, tables, and chairs. There were torches and lanterns evenly spaced everywhere, so it was rare to go onto a terrace and find it empty. And the Library was open twenty-four hours a day.

Right now, Pinocchio was sitting in a small grove of potted plants on the roof of the library, on the edge of a fountain that ran on some kind of pump technology which he would learn how to create once he got far enough in his math class to start a science. He liked it here. This tropical foliage was so different than the spun-sugar look of Magica, with its blues and purples and vast amounts of sheer mountain face. It was relaxing. And he could see the whole city spreading out before him.

He would learn to be happy here, he was sure of it. As soon as he learned to ignore this... _emotion_ that kept pushing at the corners of his brain. And push aside the brokenhearted face of the girl he'd stepped on to get here._  
><em>

He turned away from the view and put his mind to the next mathematics problem in his book.

He'd forced his brain so deeply into his works that the stranger sat next to him for several minutes before Pinocchio even noticed the man was there.

When he _did_ see him (he'd looked up to turn the page), he jumped so much he landed in the fountain.

The strange man, who had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a nose that had been broken more than once, laughed. "Sorry about that," he said, offering Pinocchio a hand. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just didn't want to interrupt."

Pinocchio batted the man's hand away, pushing himself out of the fountain and turning to his book. It was soaked. So was his homework. Wonderful.

"Thanks a lot," he snapped. "Now I'll have to do it all over!" He glared at the man, noticing that he wore a long green coat with entirely too many pockets. "Who are you, anyway? And what are you doing here? Can't you see I want to be left alone?" It ought to be obvious, he thought. He'd only picked the least accessible spot in the entire library.

"I really am sorry," the man said, still smiling. "My name is Jake. And I'm here to talk with you. I figured this would bother you less than breaking into your room."

"Excuse me?" Pinocchio demanded. "Breaking into my _room_?" He didn't think he liked this man, with his ever-present smile that reeked of Tricksters and his talk of breaking and entering like a Sneak. He hated people who couldn't decide where they belonged.

"Well, I really do need to talk to you," Jake said. "And I've been trying to get your attention for a good week now, with no luck. I was getting desperate."

"What on the face of this planet is so ridiculously important that you would consider breaking into my _house_?" Pinocchio demanded.

"Well, I just thought I could help you alleviate your guilt a bit," Jake said with a shrug.

That's what the emotion pushing on the edges of his consciousness was. Guilt.

But there was no way this man should know that.

"What do you mean, guilt?" Pinocchio demanded. "What on earth would I have to feel guilty about?"

Jake laughed. "You don't have to hide from me," he said. "Even if I didn't know everything about what you did to Daphne, I recognize that look- I've worn it myself more than enough times."

"How do you know what happened?" Pinocchio demanded. "I didn't tell anyone here, and nobody from Magica would give a Scholar the time of day, let alone go spreading rumors about arrests."

Jake grinned. "I may be a Scholar now, but I haven't forgotten what it was like to be a Sneak."

Pinocchio had known this man was a Sneak. No self-respecting Scholar would break into someone's house. They'd wait outside and politely ask entry. The only reason to break in would be to steal research, and the theft of ideas was a capital crime in this country.

"Go away," Pinocchio said. "I don't have any interest in what you have to say."

"Fine," Jake said with a shrug, his smile dropping off for the first time since they'd started talking. "But if you don't talk to me, what's to stop me from telling everyone here what you did back in Magica?"

Pinocchio's head snaps back up to lock eyes with Jake. "You wouldn't dare," he hissed. He'd spent too much time on this to be ostracized because he did what he had to to get where he wanted.

Jake shrugged. "I might. I might not. But if you at least listen to what I have to say, I won't."

Pinocchio sighed and gave in, muttering, "This is blackmail."

"The thing about blackmail is that you have to have done something wrong for someone to use it on you," Jake says. "Are you listening?"

Pinocchio gives a reluctant nod.

"All right," Jake says, settling himself more comfortably on the side of the fountain. "You know about the war back on the continent, right? Of course you do, you're the reason it started. Well, it's gotten pretty bad. In fact, the Magicians captured the Trickster King and the Queen of the Sneaks. Nobody knows yet, though- it only just happened. And they're going to execute them soon if we don't do something about it- and that will be the step Magica needs to win the war."

"Well, why should I even care?" Pinocchio demanded, pretending to be just as calm about this information as the man relaying it seemed. Inside, though, he was in a frenzy. That was Daphne's family. He'd never thought it would go this far. They were going to die and it was all his fault.

"You should care because they won't stop with those two," Jake said. "Next it will be Artisa, and then Scholar- and you could run again if you wanted, but they won't stop. The people in charge of your old home are completely insane, and they want to take over the entire world. It's also kind of your fault."

"And what do you want me to do about it?" Pinocchio snapped. He knew it was his fault. The man didn't need to remind him.

"Help me, that's all," Jake said with a shrug. He grinned at Pinocchio, that completely infuriating smile back on his face as he- of all things- _winked_. "I have a plan."

Pinocchio waited for a few seconds. "Well, what is it?" he demanded.

"Will you help me with it?" Jake asked. "I won't tell you unless I have your solemn word you'll assist me. Can't have it getting out."

"Fine," Pinocchio agreed. Anything to get the man to leave him alone.

There was a ripple in the air, and Pinocchio sensed the familiar tingle of magic.

"What did you do?" he screeched.

"Just held you to your promise," Jake said, voice still calm. "Forgive me for saying so, but you aren't the most trustworthy person on this rooftop."

Pinocchio fumed quietly. That was... well, not completely uncalled for, but still unnecessary and undignified.

"Are you done sulking?" Jake asked.

Pinocchio gave a sullen nod. It wasn't as if he had a choice.

"Great," Jake said, "All right, here's how it's going to go..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ Because I'm a horrible person and it was getting kind of long.<strong>

**Feature: "Sick Romance" by SaphirasMagic.  
><strong>A beautifully well-written story about Sabrina almost dying and Puckabrina. Go read it now. Review. Beg her to update. I need more.

**Many Review Replies:**

1-2-4: **Thanks for the review! Moth will be offended that you found her amusing.**

A: **Lol. Glad you liked the chapter. (I owe you an apology; you probably were worried I abandoned this again.)**

Anonymous: ...**You went to the trouble of typing in a name in the box just to call yourself anonymous? Why? Anyway, I updated.**

awesomegirl: **Have I gotten flamers? I don't remember any. I've gotten some rude people, but no flamers. And while I appreciate your defense of me, I can take care of myself. :) I'm a big girl.**

blueice2449: **Red isn't dead... A lot of the things on your list aren't exactly loose ends. Like Mr. Seven and Morgan? They're not even really IN this story. But some of them are good points.**

Cynthia Darling: **I'm glad you thought so! Thanks very much!  
>I'm trying to keep it appropriate for the K plus rating. I'm not a Mormon, and I don't really know much about them, but I'm glad I've managed to keep this at a level you're comfortable with.<br>I meant I have about three chapters left, according to my very very vague outline. I've been trying hard for weekly updates, but it's at lot more difficult than I anticipated this semester.**

Fire Queen: **If you want drama and cliches, there are plenty of other fics you can read. I tend to avoid writing those things because I've been taught that cliches are bad.  
>No, sorry. I will not do that here because this fic is trying to on one hand parallel the books and on the other follow a specific plot in my head. That doesn't fit into my plot.<br>That's cool. What's it like having a twin?**

Guest: **I'll try. School's a lot harder than I expected this year.**

Ice Queen: **No, I meant in the story. Loose ends referring to parts of the plot that are still unresolved.**

Jen222: **Thanks, glad you liked that! Happy reunions. :)  
>All right, I'll get those things. :)<strong>

justanotherblond: **I'm glad you liked it!**

qwertyuiopasdfgh: **No, it wasn't the last chapter. (You'd know if you read author's notes...)**

RoseQuartz1: **Thanks so much!**

SilSha:** QotU: But I don't WANT to kill minor but lovable characters! The rest of the stuff I'll work on. Not sure what'll happen with Jonas yet.  
>Oh, that makes more sense. Yeah, you are. Some of them just aren't as popular- actually, I'm thinking about dropping the QotU. Not a lot of interest in it lately.<br>I can see where you got the Tangled reunion idea, but my argument is that Rapunzel had never MET her parents. Sabrina had a decade with them and then they disappeared. So she's not nervous about meeting them. These are people she knows and loves that she's getting back.  
>There are only a few chapters left because there isn't a lot of plot left.<strong>

SilverFan:** Thank you so much for the compliments! They made my day. :) I think there are two or three left. It could change. This thing is already longer than I thought it would be, it's totally possible it'll get even longer again. Thank you again for the wonderful review!**


	36. In Which Pinocchio IS the Author

**AN~ I give up. Updates will happen when they happen, guys, and I'm sorry they're so few and far between, but this appears to be the new norm. On the plus side, I DID update!**

QotU: If you read this and you know it clap your hands! (Seriously guys I'm running out of ideas for these...)

**Old QotU Winner: Ultimatefreakofnature, who wanted Puckabrina. I figured that way it's like you all win.**

* * *

><p>Daphne was just starting to get worried about how long it had been since she'd heard from Sabrina when the news came.<p>

This news came in the form of a group of Sneaks appearing in Artisa's castle without warning, led by the Wolf, a man Daphne had never seen before, and someone she'd expected never to see again- Pinocchio.

She wasn't sure how to react to this. Sabrina would have punched him first thing. But she wasn't Sabrina. And her grandmother would have taken this as an apology and forgiven him immediately. But Daphne wasn't her grandmother, either. So she decided to withhold judgement temporarily.

At the moment, Billy, Snow, Daphne, the newcomers, and a few of Billy's advisers were all gathering in Billy's council room to find out what exactly was going on.

Once they were all seated around the long oval table, Billy looked at the Wolf and said, "Explain."

He did. As he spoke about the new man- Daphne's banished uncle, apparently- what had happened to Pinocchio, and why Sabrina hadn't sent her any letters lately, Daphne's stomach sank further and further down her torso, until it felt like it was sitting near her hips, and it was full of lead. Sabrina was captured. Sabrina was in Magica. Sabrina might die.

"We have come to ask your assistance," the Wolf told Billy. "We are the only ones who can be spared to rescue the Queen and the Trickster King. If we go now, without reinforcements, we will fail. But if Artisa were to back us up-"

"Absolutely not," Billy said, slapping a hand to his table. "Artisa is staying out of this fight. We. Are. Neutral!"

"Billy," Snow said softly.

"I can't, Snow," he said. "I can't involve my people in something like this. It has nothing to do with them. I can't send them to die just because the little girl in charge of Sneak went and got herself kidnapped."

Daphne burned inside at this comment. He made it sound like Sabrina had done something stupid to get kidnapped. From the sound of it, she'd done the best she could.

Snow glared at the king of Artisa. "Excuse me?" she demanded.

Billy babbled something, shrinking under that glare.

"That 'little girl,' as you call her, is my _queen_!" Snow snapped. "And not only that, she's one of my best friends, and family of more of them! She's been ruling her kingdom as best she can for years, and doing a fine job of it, too! If she's been abducted, it's not because she made some silly mistake, it's because she was overwhelmed." She glared at him. "I'm going, even if you won't help."

She stopped for a second, and everyone in the room stared at her. There was a moment of silence. Everyone looked at each other, confused.

Then Snow stood up and said, "And besides that- do you really think they're going to stop with Sneak? With Trickster?" She shook her head. "Once they've conquered those two, they'll move on to Artisa- and they'll probably have a way to force the people they've conquered to help fight. Artisa will be overrun. At best, after they got done with those two, they'd move on to Scholar before they came here. But they _will_ come. I've been there, Billy. I know the people running this kingdom. They will not stop until they've eaten the world." Her glare grew fiercer and she said, "Even if you won't help for a fellow royal, or because she's my friend, you should help because nobody can be neutral here. You're either fighting them or you're already part of them and you just don't know it yet."

Snow sat back down, the fight gone out of her eyes. Everyone in the room stared at her.

"If you won't fight now, Billy," she continued, "then you're not the man I fell in love with. I'll go with them, and no matter what happens, you'll never see me again."

Billy stared at Snow. He wasn't the only one. In fact, Daphne and Snow were the only ones looking at him. Daphne hoped he'd agree. He _had_ to help save her sister. Sabrina couldn't die! She was to important! And if he didn't help save her- well, someday _she'd_ be queen of Sneak (even if it meant she had to destroy every single person in all of Magica), and she'd make sure he paid for not helping.

Billy deflated with a sigh. "It's not that easy," he said. "I'll have to talk to the council, and we'll have to reach a formal decision. I'm not the only power in the kingdom, and they might say no."

"You can authorize a group of soldiers to go into Magica on your own," Daphne piped up. She knew how this worked. "You only need the council's approval for a full-on war."

"An excellent point, Daphne," Snow said with a smile, still looking at Billy.

Billy threw his hands into the air. "Fine!" he snapped. "I'll help your foolish little queen out of her problem, and when we all die, I'll blame the whole thing on you!"

"As long as I get my sister back, I don't care," Daphne muttered.

Snow patted Daphne's arm sympathetically.

"Meeting adjourned," Billy said, voice full of exasperation. "I have a council to round up."

One by one, the people in the room stood up to leave. Daphne waited until most of them were gone, then went to find her uncle. She didn't have anything better to do at the moment, and she was a bit curious about why he'd been gone for so long.

"Hey, peanut," the man said, giving her a crooked smile as she approached him outside the council room.

"Peanut?" Daphne asked, deciding to overlook the nervousness under his grin. She'd be nervous, too, she supposed.

He shrugged. "I give people nicknames. You look like a peanut to me."

"Why?" she asked.

He shrugged. "You were the shortest person in that entire council room. Like a little peanut surrounded by a bunch of people. And you didn't even care."

"I'm used to being smaller," Daphne said. Up until Basil had been born, she'd been the youngest. And he'd disappeared so soon after he was born, Daphne was the youngest one all the time. It made it hard to get people's attention, but she managed.

"I bet you are," her uncle said.

Daphne's eyes widened. "I don't even know your name," she said.

"It's Jacob," he said, "but you can call me Jake." He swallowed, eyeing her. "You don't mind me calling you peanut, do you?"

Daphne shook her head. "It's fine," she said. She thought she might get to like it, eventually.

They were silent for a while.

"So," Daphne said eventually, "You've been watching us this whole time? Ever since you were..." _banished_, she almost said, but she stopped herself.

"Well, not the whole time," he said. "First I traveled around for a while, got the itch out of my feet. But then I heard Hank had a baby, and I decided that if I couldn't come see her, I could at least be her godfather from afar. Keep her safe, send her presents, things like that." He gulped. "I never heard- did your parents actually give you godparents?"

Daphne shook her head. "Granny wanted to do it, but Mom said there wasn't really a point except to have someone else to give us fancy presents, and we'd be spoiled enough already."

Jake grinned. "That sounds like your mother, all right. I liked Goldie well enough, but your father married the right girl, in the end."

Daphne had heard about Goldie from Sabrina's letters, so she didn't question. She had a vague idea that her father's former fiance had something to do with why her uncle had left in the first place, and she didn't want to bring that up. He could tell her if he wanted. But she wanted to like him. Finding out what he'd done might make that harder, and it was obvious that he was sorry for whatever it was.

"Mom's awesome," she agreed, finally. "I want to be just like her when I grow up." Not that she'd done a very good job of it, botching her first diplomatic mission like she'd done.

"Well, you certainly look a lot like her," Jake said. "A lot like your dad, too, though."

Daphne nodded. "Sabrina looks more like mom in the face."

They were silent again for a time, and then Jake said, "I suppose you're wondering about why I've been away so long. Unless they told you?"

"They didn't," Daphne said, "but you don't have to tell me unless you want to."

Jake grinned and ruffled her hair. "You're a good kid," he said.

Daphne grinned back. She was petty sure she liked her uncle.

"And 'cause you're such a good kid, you should go talk to Pinocchio," he continued, nodding to the boy in question, who was lurking around the corner of the hall, peering at the duo.

Daphne thought she might like her uncle a little less than she'd thought she did.

"Go on," he said. "He's... well, he's not really a nice guy, but he's really beating himself up about the way he treated you, even if he doesn't want to admit it to himself."

Daphne sighed and gave Jake a look that very clearly read _do I have to_. He just kept grinning at her, so she slunk her way down the hall to the boy who had been one of her closest friends for nearly a year._  
><em>

For someone who supposedly wanted to talk to her, Pinocchio was excellent at making himself scarce. By the time she'd made it to the spot sh'd last seen his face, the boy was gone, and she spent the rest of the afternoon pretending she wasn't looking for him and worrying about her sister. It wasn't until dinner that they ran into each other again.

They were placed next to each other at dinner, and from the looks Snow and Uncle Jake were giving each other across the table, Daphne had an idea it was no accident.

This wasn't a conversation Daphne wanted to have in public, though, so dinner was... very awkward, to say the least.

"Are you worried about your sister?" Pinocchio asked at one point.

Well, of course she was. If they'd captured Sabrina, then they were definitely bad news. Sabrina was tough. She could handle normal threats. And Daphne had seen Magica's dark side. She knew Sabrina was stronger than she was, but if they threw her in there with monsters in the dark... Of course she was worried! She'd have to be insane or completely naive not to be!

But all she said was, "Yes."

"Oh," Pinocchio answered softly.

Daphne bit back a comment about how if Pinocchio hadn't betrayed her, then Sabrina might be safe right now. She'd already decided this wasn't the place to have this talk.

Those were the only words the duo exchanged through the whole meal.

After dinner, though, Daphne grabbed Pinocchio's arm and clamped down on it. He wasn't getting away from her this time! She pulled him into another room and shut the door with satisfaction. Now they were alone. Now they could talk.

"I suppose you want to yell at me," Pinocchio said morosely.

"Well of course I do!" Daphne snapped. "But that's not why I'm here- my uncle said I should talk to you. Otherwise I'd be avoiding you. I don't like traitors." She glared at him. "The only reason I even listened to him is because he said you were sorry. Well, I don't see it."

"How did he know?" Pinocchio demanded. "I never said-"

Daphne didn't bother to point out that her uncle had done something so bad he got banished from his home. If he wasn't thinking clearly enough to see that, it wasn't her job to enlighten him. Instead, she focused on the fact that Jake had been _right_. "So you _are_ sorry?" she asked.

He swallowed and looked very steadily at a portrait of Billy's dead brother that hung on the wall behind her. "I treated you unfairly," he allowed.

They stood there in silence for a minute, and then Daphne started to get annoyed. Here he was, pretending like he didn't want to apologize, and yet he'd come all this way to help, so he _had_ to want her to forgive him, or he had to be trying to stop feeling so guilty or something, and he was just acting like he was too good to ask her forgiveness, or something!

So she demanded, "If you're not here 'cause you want me to forgive you, then what on _earth_ did you come for? You might as well just have stayed in your stupid Scholar place! That's what you wanted, wasn't it? To be a Scholar and be alone with your books all the time?" She gave him an icy glare that he couldn't have missed, even if his eyes were still focused squarely away from her. "Because books and learning can't hurt you, can they? Not like people you care about."

"Why should I bother asking forgiveness if I know you won't give it to me?" Pinocchio exploded.

"To show me you _care_!" Daphne snapped back. "To show that you're not a heartless jerkazoid after all, and that the year we spent together actually _meant_ something to you, that you were maybe actually my friend once, not just using me to get what you wanted. To prove that you're a human being and yeah, you made a big mistake and maybe I'll never be able to forgive you for it, but at least we _were_ friends once!"

He was looking at her now, and he said very softly, "You're crying."

She was. She hadn't noticed. With a sigh, she slumped against the wall and slid down it until she was sitting on the floor. "I've never had a lot of friends in Sneak," she said softly. "I mean, everyone was nice, and polite, and they didn't exclude me, but I never quite _fit_ there, and I was the youngest all the time. I thought- I thought I'd finally found someone who liked my company for who I was, not because I was the princess, or because I was lonely. And then you went and did that."

"See?" Pinocchio said, kneeling in front of her. "You'll never forgive me. I've hurt you too much."

"You can still apologize," Daphne whispered.

Pinocchio looked into her eyes, nodded, and took a deep breath. "Daphne," he said, "I am profoundly sorry for the way I hurt you. I will never be able to repair the damage I did to our relationship, not if I were to wait on you hand and foot for a thousand years. I know it is no excuse, but I could think of no way to get what I wanted besides turning you in. I justified it to myself at the time- I could get out and learn everything, and perhaps even find my father, if I cared to; and besides, you _had_ broken the law, and your family would ransom you, or break you out. You would be fine. And I would get what I wished for. I did not take into account the pain I would cause my own soul by crushing yours. The look on your face when you found out I had betrayed you has haunted me these past months, and I cannot escape it. I know I will never be able to repair our friendship, but I will do penance as best I can- I will make sure your sister is freed. And then I will go away and you will never have to see me again."

It was such a _Pinocchio_ apology, and she was so tired and afraid for her sister and wound up inside, that when he said that, Daphne couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" he demanded. "Don't you like it? I practiced it for hours. What do you want me to do, kiss your feet?"

"I know," Daphne said, choking down on her laughter. "It's just... of course you'd make a speech." She saw that he was blushing very brightly, and even though she hadn't forgiven him, she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just... It's been a very difficult day."

Looking mollified, Pinocchio gave her a glance. "Do you... do you want to talk about it?"

Did she? Daphne thought about it. It would be a relief to let it out, in a sense. But with Pinocchio? She'd already poured her heart out to him once tonight, and she didn't think she was ready to trust him with anything else. And she was worried that if she let herself think about how afraid she was for Sabrina, she'd never be able to stop. And she didn't want to spiral into that terror. If she could just hold it off until she was ready to go help get her out, then everything would be fine. But she needed to hold herself together until then. So she shook her head.

"Oh," he said softly, "I understand."

Part of Daphne was burning to let him think it was because she was still angry at him- she was, after all, still very angry- but another part of her remembered the way she and Sabrina had fought when they were younger. Sabrina would do something stupid, and Daphne would respond by giving her sister the cold shoulder, which she knew hurt Sabrina incredibly. And nothing got solved that way. It just made things worse, actually. It wasn't her job to punish people for being stupid.

"Oh, no, it's not-" she started. "It's- I can't talk about it. If I let it out, then I'll be useless. And I need to be useful to get my sister back."

Pinocchio raised his eyebrows at her. "Do you actually think they're going to let you go in and help?" he asked, incredulity overflowing in his voice.

"There's not 'letting' about it," Daphne said, her voice full of steel- like Sabrina's would have been. "I'm going." She smiled- a tiny expression, full of ice. "I'd like to see them try and stop me."

Pinocchio gave her a thoughtful look. "You know," he said, "I think that would be rather amusing, actually- you're stronger than people give you credit for, Daphne."

"I have to be," Daphne said. "I'm the youngest- people don't pay attention to me unless I'm powerful." She stood up, dusting off the back of her skirt. "Well?" she asked, looking down at the boy on the floor. "Are you just going to draw my sister out of jail by the power of your guilt? Or are you actually going to do something useful with yourself?"

Pinocchio gave her a small smile and pushed himself off the ground, following her to start planning.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ Well this chapter didn't go the way I planned it at all. I'm not sure I'm happy with it- it's kind of dialogue-heavy, without enough tension for something so close to the climax. And I forgot most of the ways I wanted them to say things, it took so long between planning the scene and actually writing it. What do you guys think?<strong>

**Feature: A Bidding Assassin by Gothic-Emo-Bunny  
><strong>A remake of her old story that I'm pretty sure I've already featured (A Spy's Secret), there's only one chapter of this fic so far, but it looks great!

**Many Review Replies:**

1-2-4: **Uncle Jake has been in the background this whole time. I'm going to make it more clear that he's been pulling strings when I edit this. Did I really? I just finished the rough draft of a novel in present tense and I like it and I keep slipping into it but I thought I caught all my mistakes and fixed them...**

Chicly:** I don't do songfics anymore because they're technically illegal, but if you check out my fic "Background Music," I can see if I can put a story BASED around that song in there. Glad you liked the chapter!**

girl known maybe: **No, he's not, really. Pinocchio's always known he wanted to be a Scholar. It was just that he couldn't figure out how to get there without becoming a traitor.**

SilSha:** I'm really sorry. School was impossible (I figured that happened with a lot of people- not a ton of reviews this chapter). I guess it might have been kind of rushed, but I wanted the sections to be shorter, to be honest. They came out a lot longer than I intended. What does Rapunzel have to do with anything? QotU: I wasn't planning on getting rid of it... I'll totally check you out (that sounded wrong). Talk about feeling weird, I'm turning 21 in April! Good books would be easier if I knew what you'd already read. I'm writing a fanfic, though, so it's not a book and nobody needs to die.**


	37. Cellmates

**AN~ An UPDATE! So yeah, guys, it's camp NaNoWriMo, and I decided to do fanfics for that this time around, see if I could actually get some done. I finished one, but I've updated all the rest except one, so that's progress, and there's still like nine days left for me to update something else yay!**

QotU: WHY ARE YOU NOT REVIEWING ARE YOU BORED? ARE YOU MAD AT ME? DID YOU JUST LEAVE? WHAT IS GOING ON?

**Old QotU Winner: SilSha (as per usual anymore) because DEDICATION.**

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><p>Jonas had never thought war could get monotonous. But that's what this was. They went out and fought, and then they came back. They tried not to die. They tended each other's injuries. They ate. They slept. They did it again. Some days he dunked his head in a bucket of water because he couldn't stand how filthy he was. Once in a while there wouldn't be any enemies, and they'd take a day off. He hadn't changed his clothes in a month.<p>

He couldn't tell who was winning now, or who was losing. All that mattered was that they kept fighting.

Nobody knew which of them were Sneaks and which were Tricksters, now. They all set traps and shot arrows at their enemies from hidden places, and it didn't matter where they'd come from.

And when the information came that Sabrina had been captured, that their queen was gone, it stopped meaning much at all.

Oh, he didn't stop fighting. None of them did.

But he stopped hoping for an end, stopped thinking that things could be normal, that they could win. Now they were all just fighting because they were too stubborn to give up.

He didn't know what the strategy was anymore. He hadn't even bothered to go see Relda in what felt like forever.

His life was turning into a kind of purgatory. Sometimes he wondered if he'd already died and nobody had bothered to tell him.

Something had to change, soon, or he was going to go crazy.

* * *

><p>Daphne packed the last of her things into the bag and mentally went over her list. She wanted to make sure she had everything she'd need to rescue Sabrina.<p>

Knives, practical clothes, a wand, boots, clothes, dried food, a toothbrush, rope...

Yeah, she was pretty sure that was everything she'd need. Now she just needed to find out when they were leaving.

"Daphne, what are you doing?" Snow's voice said from the door.

After all, the only problem was that nobody knew she was planning to go with them.

She turned a defiant look on the woman who had been almost like a mother to her for the past four years. "I'm packing," she said.

Snow sighed. "You're not coming, Daphne."

"I am," Daphne said. "I have to."

"It's too dangerous," Snow said.

As if that was the first time Daphne had heard that.

"I can't stay here," Daphne said, and for the first time, she dropped the stubborn, solid voice she'd learned from so many others, and let the desperation she was actually feeling creep into what she was saying. "It's _Sabrina_. She's too important to me. I'll go crazy worrying if you make me stay here while you go after her."

The truth was that the only way they'd be able to keep Daphne from going would be to tie her to a horse and have armed guards tow her to her parents, and she didn't see that happening (and she might find a way to sneak out even then- her sister had trained her well). But things would go much easier if they'd just _let_ her come with them.

Snow rubbed the back of her neck, looking at the ceiling. "This is a really bad idea," she said, but her tone was resigned. "Your grandmother's going to kill me. And if she doesn't, your father definitely will."

"Granny knows how strong I am," Daphne said, fighting the smile that was threatening to plaster itself onto her face. She was going to be allowed to go! "And Dad doesn't have to know about this. You can always tell him I snuck after you and it was too dangerous to send me back alone."

Snow sighed. "Come on downstairs," she said. "I was just coming to say goodbye. We're about to head out."

Daphne gave her teacher a fierce little smile. They were going to get Sabrina back.

* * *

><p>Sabrina came back to consciousness slowly. First, she became aware of an intense headache. Then she felt cold, rough stone underneath her- she was lying on the floor somewhere. The air around her was cold, too, and there was a breeze whistling through the room, chilling her to the bone. It smelled like spices and something else she couldn't name, and she could almost hear people whispering on it.<p>

She ached all over. She was pretty sure she'd broken at least one bone (it felt like a broken arm, at least), and she could feel a number of bruises and the sharper pain of lacerations all over her body.

What had happened to her?

Oh, right. Her brain worked its way sluggishly to the memory of the attack in the Tracks, and she pushed herself, frustrated, trying to _think_.

She must be in Magica, then. In a prison, she supposed.

But what kind of prison had open windows that blew cold breezes at the prisoners? Most of the ones she'd seen were underground.

She had to open her eyes.

She didn't want to. What she wanted to do was to go back to sleep until her head hurt less, or curl up and shiver (or better yet, cuddle into Puck to borrow some of his warmth).

Puck.

Her eyes snapped open involuntarily. Where was Puck? Was he all right? Had they killed him?

Puck was lying next to her, directly in front of her eyes. He wasn't moving.

Well, at least she knew where he was.

Now it was time to look around.

Sabrina pushed herself up with a groan, using her broken arm to support herself as she levered herself up onto her good arm, eyes squeezed shut. She was in _horrible_ shape.

Once she was in a sitting position, she hissed, pulling her broken arm to her chest, and looked around.

She was in a small room with seamless stone walls that drew to a point to create the ceiling. The floor slipped into the walls without breaking- was she inside a mountain? if only her head would stop pounding so she could _think_- and there was a funny looking patch of floor over to her left that was probably the way in, magicked so she couldn't get out. Placed wherever they would fit there were windows all across the room, creating the breeze that whipped her hair into her face._  
><em>

The strangest part of this tower-prison was the mirrors.

They were spaced evenly around the walls, just... mirrors. Hanging there, like this was some kind of dressing room in Sneak. Only Sabrina had seen the windows, and she knew there were no passages behind these mirrors. The walls weren't thick enough.

For the first time in years, she was struck with the thought that it was an enormous invasion of privacy to have spyholes behind the mirrors of dressing rooms.

But that wasn't important right now. What was important was that Puck wasn't moving, her arm was broken, and she had no idea how to get out of here. One glance out those windows told her that trying to leave that way with a broken arm would be suicide- she could see mountaintops below her. And she could tell without checking that she was still basically in her underthings, without a single weapon or tool to help her. She supposed she could use _Puck's_ clothes for something (if she could think up a way to make them useful), though she'd wait until he woke up to ask for them.

"I see you're up at last," someone said.

Sabrina's head swung around so fast she cracked her neck. She could have sworn she and Puck were alone in this room.

There was someone looking at her from the inside of one of the mirrors.

And as she stared, trying to figure out how this was possible with walls thinner than the length of her hand, more faces appeared within the mirrors. She'd heard of scrying through mirrors, but this... Sure, she hadn't paid too much attention in her classes on Magica, but she'd had no idea they could do _this_!

Sabrina swallowed, looking around. All of the mirrors except one now had people looking out from them. Well... something like people. One of them looked more like a deer, and several of the others weren't exactly human, either.

"Um... hello," she said, doing her best to sound brave.

A chorus of greetings washed over her, and the whispers she'd heard as she regained consciousness suddenly made sense.

"You've been asleep a long time," said one of them- a dark-skinned man with an accent Sabrina hadn't heard since her training in foreign languages began, several years ago. "We were beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up."

"How- how long?" Sabrina asked. Her voice cracked, and she realized, around the pain, how dry her throat was. And how _hungry_ she was.

The figures in the mirrors looked at each other, then back at her. They shrugged. One of them, a short man in a patterned shirt, said, "It's hard to tell time, here. A few days? A week, maybe?"

A week!

One of the figures disappeared, then reappeared, holding a glass of water. "Here," she said. "You look like you could use this."

Sabrina looked at the surface of the mirror and then at the person on the far side of it. "How do I get it?" she asked.

"Just reach your hand in," the woman said.

"How about you just reach out?" Sabrina countered, though she was tempted to just take it. She was _thirsty_.

"We can't," the woman said.

So they were stuck here as much as she was. Unless they could get out on the other end, the wherever they were.

"How do I know I won't get stuck in there if I reach in?" Sabrina asked warily. She wasn't getting stuck in any trap just 'cause she was already at a disadvantage. Though what they'd need to trap her any further for she wasn't sure.

The woman laughed. "Don't worry, honey," she said. "This cage can only hold one, and I'm it. They tailored it just for me."

Sabrina considered for a moment before forcing herself with an effort onto her feet and stumbling over to the mirror.

She hesitated before reaching her hand in, though.

"Don't worry," the woman encouraged. "It doesn't hurt- as long as nobody breaks the mirror."

So Sabrina stuck her hand into the mirror.

It rippled.

It was disconcerting, seeing her reflection and seeing through it to watch her good hand take a cup from a woman who only existed in this two-dimensional space (the mirror swung as she reached in, and she could see that there was no hidden space behind it). But then she had the water and she was guzzling it down and it almost didn't matter because she was so _thirsty_.

The cup was empty before she knew it, and she pressed her hand back through the mirror, returning the thing. She even managed not to flinch, though she had to tense herself to hold back a shudder. She didn't like magic. It was too strange, too hard to control. Too powerful.

The cup was replaced in her hand with a hard biscuit (travel fare), which she was forced, by the staleness of the thing, to eat more slowly. By the time her thirst was quenched and she'd been fed to satisfaction, she was much more willing to trust these not-people, and a lot closer to feeling like a human being, although she still ached nearly everywhere and her head was pounding.

She sat back on the floor, leaning against Puck and rubbing her temples with her good hand.

"Your companion..." one of them said, giving Puck a worried glance. "He is not well."

Sabrina grimaced. She knew that, but she could feel him breathing against her back, and _she'd_ woken up, so he had to be all right, right?

She needed him to be all right.

She wasn't entirely sure when she'd moved from fancying Puck to depending on him, though she imagined it had happened sometime when they were hiding on their own in the Tracks. But that wasn't important. What was important was that she somehow cared about this boy king more than she'd ever cared about anyone outside her family, and that she wasn't sure what she'd do if he didn't wake up.

If that happened...

The Magicians would regret ever setting eyes on the two of them. It didn't matter that she was alone, barely out of girlhood, with a broken arm. She'd tear this blasted country down rock by glamoured rock, and she'd use those rocks to bash in the heads of the people who'd done this. And then she'd invade _their_ country. See how they liked it._  
><em>

"He lost much blood," someone else said, drawing Sabrina out of her bloody thoughts. "We were unable to do much, but you might be able to help."

Sabrina grimaced. She knew a good deal of first aid, but it was kind of late for that, if they'd really been here a week. And she wouldn't be much good with a broken arm. "I can't really do anything," she said.

"Bring him here, and we will do what we can," the woman who'd fed her said. "I have things in here which could heal him-"

"Not a chance," Sabrina snapped. No potions were going into _her_ lover. Not while she could help it.

The woman gave her a sad look. "Not all magic is bad, you know," she said. "I have seen people who think like you often, since Magica changed, but once it was considered a force to make the world a better place. You are too young to remember that, though."

Magica had lost its monarchy before Sabrina was born, yes. But that didn't mean she was willing to accept that these people were trying to help her.

Then again, the people who had put her in prison were the same ones who'd put them in prison. And the enemy of her enemy might just be her friend.

And Puck needed help.

"Fine," she relented.

"Bring him, then," the woman said.

It took a long time for Sabrina to get Puck over to that mirror, and just as long for her to get him through it onto the other side. She was a strong girl, but she was working with only one arm, and her stamina wasn't what it usually was. Whatever magic they'd used to knock her out, it had taken a huge toll out of her.

But finally, he was in the mirror, and she sat outside of it, panting heavily. This better work.

"This will take some time," the woman said. "Perhaps you should sleep while you wait?"

Sabrina shook her head. She wasn't tired like that. Besides, there was no way she could get to sleep with all of them _watching_ her like that.

"Perhaps you should tell us your tale, then," the man in the patterned shirt said. "As we are all prisoners together."

Sabrina shrugged. She might as well. So she told them her story, starting with the disappearance of her parents when she was ten, moving through her angry years to the arranged marriage and the threat of war, to her time in Trickster, to her sister's captivity. She explained about finding her parents, and about being captured. It took a while to tell.

When she was done, though, Puck still wasn't awake.

The one with the deer face nodded. "We knew some of this," he said. "We can see through other mirrors, and you appear often. You are important. But thank you for telling us."

"I'll say no problem if you tell me your story," Sabrina said. "It's bound to be an interesting one." Plus it would give her something to judge whether or not she should trust these people.

The dark-skinned man nodded and said, "Fair enough. We are all siblings."

"What- all of you?" Sabrina asked, incredulous. None of them looked anything alike, and most of them didn't even seem to be the same species.

He nodded. "We are all but two of the children of the rabbit queen."

Sabrina stared. They were saying that not only were they family, but they were the royal family of Magica, children of Queen Lancaster, one of the greatest witches ever to rule the mountain country. She'd known the woman had a big family, but not _this_ big.

Not to mention that the royal family of Magica was supposed to be dead- slaughtered when the Magicians revolted decades ago.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" she asked suspiciously.

The deer-faced one nodded. "The rumor was spread to protect us, during the revolt. After our mother killed Snow, one of her friends placed us in these mirrors to save us. Here, we are no harm to anyone, and we could not step forward to rule the kingdom."

"At least, that was the plan," someone behind Sabrina muttered.

"What- what exactly happened?" Sabrina asked. "That made Magica revolt? Nobody ever explained it to me." In fact, this had been very purposefully glossed over in her lessons, and none of the refugees from Magica would talk about it, no matter how much she questioned them.

"It's a long story," a woman with blue skin said.

Sabrina leaned on her good arm and said, "I've got time."

The dark-skinned man laughed and said, "You most certainly do."

Sabrina looks at them all expectantly, waiting.

The one in the patterned shirt said, "It began with our sister."

* * *

><p>Nobody had thought it was a good idea for Daphne to come along, but the fact that Snow had agreed was enough to keep them from sending her back, so she'd become a permanent installation on the rescue squad.<p>

A few days in, she was honestly thinking that maybe she should have stayed behind. She'd forgotten how much she hated camping, with the hard beds, cold nights, and long days.

But this was for Sabrina. She couldn't go back, not if having her there made it any more likely that Sabrina would be safe.

Of course, Daphne wasn't so sure she could really be of much use. They had people who knew Magica, and they had warriors, and her uncle was a Sneak and a Scholar. What did they need her for?

Sometimes she really wondered if she was a burden to everyone. Just useless. The little sister who didn't quite fit in anywhere.

And other times she wondered if she'd come along on this trip just to prove she _wasn't_ useless.

Either way, though, she _would_ be useful here.

And so she didn't complain, even when Pinocchio started to, even when they were back in the endless darkness of the tunnels into Magica, even when most of the soldiers started groaning as they got up in the "mornings," even when they started having to ration the water.

She wouldn't be a burden, and she would help rescue Sabrina. No matter what.

When they'd made it though the long journey into Magica, they didn't storm the castle immediately. Daphne supposed she shouldn't be surprised. After all, they were being led by two sort-of-Sneaks and an Artisan. And Sneaks always had a plan.

What they _did_ do was hide out in a little green glade by a stream, among a group of short men who appeared to be good friends of Snow's.

There, they were fed and clean, and they worked up their strength. They didn't leave the shaded glade, though. They stayed there, in the shadow of the mountain that was Magica's capital.

The short men left, though, and came back with news of what was happening. Sabrina and Puck were in the castle; their execution and trial were scheduled for the same day (Daphne fumed a little inside at the injustice of that); they were at the top of the mountain; and Magica needed to get this war over quickly, because it was drawing out too long, their forces were being worn thin. If Sabrina and Puck weren't gotten rid of soon, things would wear into a stalemate that could last forever.

Snow, Billy, Jake, the seven short men, and the captain of the soldiers Billy had brought all talked it over and decided it would be impossible to get Sabrina and Puck out from where they were now, and that the only time to strike would be when the two rulers were being transported, either to their trial or to their execution.

So they waited.

And they planned.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ All right, so the end of Sabrina's section was kind of a teaser but I wanted to get Daphne's second section in and Sabrina's would take way too long if I did that. We ARE actually winding this thing up now, though. Like two chapters left, I think.<strong>

**Feature: "Life is Worth More than Gold" by IceQueenandFireQueen  
><strong>Sabrina and Daphne are runaway princesses living with a thief when Daphne nearly dies. The chapters are short, but the story is pretty good.

**Many Review Replies:**

1-2-4: **Uncle Jake's been pulling strings in the background the whole story. I just haven't made it clear enough, because I only decided it was him halfway through.**

Artisticdreamer: **Thanks so much! I'm not stopping until this is doen with. :)**

Axel Treehorn: **1. I don't know. They're like, twelve. I don't think that's quite old enough for a pairing (Puckabrina excepted, a little). And I don't really care who ships what (I do what I want). DaphnexRed was from someone on deviantART, actually. 2. I'm glad you liked it! I'm not really a Phinabella shipper because I love watching her try and fail. It's hilarious. 3. Um... What? Where is this comment?**

Guest:** You're welcome for the chapter, and thank you for the compliment! (It's because I was an obnoxious little snot just like him when I was fourteen or so. I grew out of it. He will too.)**

KathieSaysHi:** Oh hey, I remember you! I'm glad you like it and didn't just disappear 'cause I was boring you. Yeah, I know Daphne's age is just... my timeline is screwy. Daphne is twelve currently, going on thirteen. Sabrina was fourteen at the very beginning of the story, and now she's sixteen. I'll go back and look for the name switches.**

Lalaland5634: **Review 1: Well I didn't picture him as a middle aged man 'cause he's the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, but whatever works, since we've never even met the man. :) See, I HAD to name them Sneak and Trickster because Sabrina's the queen of the Sneaks and Puck's the Trickster king, and that's the whole basis of the story, and I liked the theme. I see where you're coming from with the others, though it's a bit late to change it.**  
><strong>Review 2: It's a medieval thing; marriages solidify contracts and make <em>sure<em> you won't turn on the other country, 'cause now you have family there. Also Titania and Relda wanted to show the countries that if Puck and Sabrina could get along, then everyone else could dang well get along too.**  
><strong>Review 2 part 2: Are you by any chance writing this on your phone or a tablet, because I'm seeing a lot of auto"corrects."<strong>  
><strong>Review 3: When I edit it, I'll see if I can throw Daphne into the meal. My Daphne's a bit older, and sh's a lot different 'cause she's grown up in a world where being Sabrina is a good thing and being Daphne isn't valuable- you'll see more of that later.<strong>  
><strong>By the way, your TLWR review: So you're tired of SG but you still read the fanfics? I feel like you should write your own fic 'cause you seem to have a lot of ideas going around in your brain that I'm probably not going to edit into this (I don't think Renee's a whiner, and Daphne IS a brat. In the books, too.)<strong>  
><strong>All of them: Thanks so much for your extremely detailed reviews, they made me smile.<strong>

SilSha: **My birthday's the 26th. Thanks! You definitely win the QotU for that. That's COMMITMENT.**

SPATW: **I'm aware. But I'm running out of questions, and I'm not going to ask questions like the one you just suggested 'cause I've never heard of that show.**

Zstar1:** Thanks so much! I'd have updated faster but school is a b*tch.**


	38. No Way Out

**AN~ This took a lot longer than I expected and I'm sorry. I'm also probably not going to be around much for the upcoming month because I'm going to Italy. So yeah.**

QotU: What should I call the sequel? I'm thinking "International Policy and Enemy Extraction," but it doesn't have the same ring as AMaWoS does.

**Old QotU Winner: Axel Treehorn. He had suggestions about why.**

* * *

><p>The story of what happened to Snow was long, and a bit difficult for Sabrina to understand because she wasn't intimately acquainted with the knowledge of how Magicia worked.<p>

The jist of it, though, was that the previous queen of Magica had had two powers which she was born with: the ability to create her childre without a man to help, and a bit of an ability to be a seer. Snow was the only child born without any special talents of her own, but she was also the oldest, the heir to the throne of Magica. There were rumors that Snow was actually the child of a human man, and that even though she was a perfectly capable sorceress, much like her mother, she was not the rightful queen of Magica. There were four assassination attempts throughout her childhood.

So apparently the queen decided it would be a good idea to get Snow safely out of the kingdom. First she sent her to live with some friends outside of the capital, then when that didn't stop the assassins from finding her, she made arrangements for Snow to marry the crown prince of Artisa. This way she'd be out of the kingdom. Her oldest brother would rule as regent, and everyone would be happy.

Except then the queen went crazy. She saw a vision of the prince of Artisa killing Snow, and she went berserk, killing thousands of people, including (apparently) her own daughter and her fiance.

Magicians could deal with a lot of craziness from their rulers. Their current council was an excellent example of this. But they couldn't sit back and watch the queen kill her own daughter _and_ assassinate the future ruler of another kingdom. It was too much. So they rebelled. They decided they'd had enough of somewhat insane rulers, and they killed Bunny and locked all her children in glass cages.

Things would have been fine, but then the council turned out to be just as bad, and one of its members was one of Bunny's children (though apparently not many knew this), working from his prison.

And the council was hungry for more space. So the war happened. Sabrina knew the rest.

It was shocking to find out Snow's story. A princess? Rightful queen? Sabrina almost couldn't believe it.

And yet it somehow made sense.

"Wow," she said, once she'd digested things. "That's... wow."

She'd have said more, but there was a groan from behind her, and she suddenly found herself busy with Puck, which was honestly a little more important than finding out one of her best friends had a complicated history. She'd always assumed Snow's past hid a big secret, after all. Finding out what it was didn't change the fact that Puck was in worse shape than she was, and he needed to be taken care of.

Explaining everything to him took a long time, and taking care of him took even longer. That was okay, though, because they had nothing but time to kill. And keeping busy was better than sitting there, waiting to die, which was their other option.

She'd have liked it if their reunion could have been a little more private (there were intimate ways of expressing her relief at how glad she was that he was alive that she didn't feel comfortable doing in front of a whole bunch of people), but she was glad enough that he would be okay, for now at least, that it wasn't too important.

* * *

><p>The joy of knowing Puck was alive didn't keep her satisfied for too long.<p>

There wasn't much to do in this prison. Nobody brought them food or water; it just seemed to appear inside the mirrors, and then Sabrina and Puck would take some. The view outside the windows consisted mostly of birds and clouds. The wall was too thick for Sabrina to get a good view of the ground. There was nothing to read, and though the fellow prisoners said they could see out other mirrors, Sabrina couldn't.

The boredom set in more quickly than Sabrina would have guessed.

She and Puck spent most of their free time trying to recuperate from their injuries, doing exercises and stretches to rebuild injured muscles, and letting the other royal captives tend to broken bones and the like. Sabrina couldn't explain why she trusted these people. Normally she wouldn't have. She blamed magic. But still, she _did_ trust them.

Mostly, they just waited for something to happen.

It was a long wait. Sabrina estimated that they were in that prison for a good month before anything changed.

It was incredibly frustrating not knowing what was happening in the outside world. She could cope with it without going crazy, but just barely. And it made her very angry. She almost broke some of the mirrors, and she yelled at Puck more than once.

After the time she punched him, they took to sparring to keep her from boiling over again.

And they kept waiting.

* * *

><p>When things finally changed, it wasn't exactly for the better.<p>

A monstrous man came into their tower through the funny spot on the floor, and suddenly Sabrina and Puck found themselves unable to move.

While they were frozen, the man came up and clapped manacles around their wrists and ankles, chaining them together.

Once the things were on, Sabrina found she could move again, and she demanded, "What's being done with us?"

"Shut up and come with me," the man growled.

"Hey!" Puck snapped. "Watch it! Only I get to be nasty to her."

"Relax," Sabrina said. "I can take care of myself."

The man laughed, deep and menacing. "You've done an excellent job of that," he said, yanking on their chains. "Now follow me, before I have to _make_ you."

Sabrina and Puck shared a look, then, with a grimace, Sabrina stepped forward after the man. It would be better to bide her time and wait for an opportune moment than to resist for the sake of resisting. She'd learned that the hard way.

* * *

><p>Sabrina had never been to Magica before, at least not properly. She was suitably impressed. Everything was gray (though she supposed that had something to do with the clouds that covered the sun), and vaguely threatening in its grandiose appearance. She refused to be cowed, though, and she walked with her head held high as the monstrous man led her to what she assumed was her doom.<p>

She half expected ominous music to eminate from nowhere as she walked along, the way it did in theatrical performances when the hero was being led to his or her execution. But she wasn't a hero, and there would be no rescue for her unless she made it herself. Nobody even knew where she was. They might even still think she was in Trickster.

Still, that was no reason to be scared.

She was really very glad that part of her training to be queen included lessons on remaining poised on the outside when inside she just wanted to scream.

Besides, she was waiting for her moment.

Then she'd get them both out of here. Alive.

Or at least Puck. Her kingdom had someone else they could rally around. His didn't. And without Puck, Trickster would stop fighting. Magica would win. So Puck, at least, had to live. Though she'd rather they both survived.

* * *

><p>Puck followed his fiancee and that enormous man (the one he wouldn't admit scared him) into a big, round room he recognized (vaguely) from his mother's description of Magica's court. They were in the courtroom.<p>

On one side of the room a bunch of people were clustered, staring at the three of them. On the other side there were a line of thrones on a raised platform. All of them had people in them except the middle one, which was made of silver polished so smooth he was filled with a desire to see his distorted reflection in it like the warped mirrors of Trickster.

The huge man led them to the middle of the empty space in front of the thrones and stopped, standing between Puck and Sabrina, his hands wrapped around their chains.

"Sabrina Grimm and Puck, you are here to stand trial," someone said, the voice exploding through the room.

Puck jumped a little, and looked around, searching for the speaker. Nobody had moved, though. And Sabrina hadn't even blinked. She was just glaring at the empty throne. Puck straightened himself up and tried to look like he wasn't the only one who had no clue what was going on.

"Puck, you are accused of high treason against the realm of Magica, which birthed you, and of stealing state secrets as follows: flight. Transformation. Fire breath. Immortality. The sentence is death."

"Now hold on just a second-" Puck started. He might not have paid too much attention in lessons, but he knew you had to be part of a country to get accused of treason. And he'd never even _been_ to Magica before! Except that time he helped steal back Sabrina's parents. But he hadn't even seen the sky. And there wasn't really a clear border. So yeah.

The voice didn't even pause to let him finish, though. It just continued, "Sabrina Grimm, you are accused of freeing state prisoners, entering the country without permission, and conspiring against the governing board of Magica. The sentence is the same. The council will now try you for guilt."

Sabrina laughed. "Please," she said. "These are nonsense charges. If you're going to kill us, at least be honest about it."

"Excuse me?" the voice from nowhere demanded.

"We all know you're pulling things out of your rear ends," Sabrina said. "Freeing state prisoners? You kidnapped my parents! That in itself is worse than anything you claim to have done to me. Puck's 'stolen state secrets' are talents he was born with! And he's no more traitor to Magica than you people are! You at least were citizens when you fought against the country. I never conspired against you. I just fought back when you invaded my country searching for a prisoner who we never freed. The _only_ thing I've done is coming into the country without permission. If you want to pretend that's something you normally kill people for, fine. But don't lie to my face."

"Very well," the voice said, and Puck was surprised to hear a bit of humor in it. "You, the royalty of Sneak and Trickster, are sentenced to death as casualties of war in order that we of Magica may conquer your countries more easily."

"That's better," Sabrina said, a little bit of a satisfied smile creeping onto her own face. "Now we're on the same page, and we can get on with things."

"We sentence you to death by hanging," the bodiless voice said. "The hanging will occur as soon as feasibly possible. Take them away."

The gigantic man turned around, tugging their chains with him. Puck almost fell over. Sabrina glared at him. She, of course, was still perfectly poised.

"What do you want?" he hissed. "I'm on the wide side of his turn." It was true, but he was pretty sure Sabrina wouldn't have fallen over anyway.

Sabrina just rolled her eyes and walked forward, her head held high. She glared at everyone on their way out. Puck thought she looked beautiful, all regal and angry even when they were-

That was when it hit him. They were going to die. Today. There was no fighting their way out of this. No running. Nobody to save them. He was being led to his death.

The color drained out of his face, and he stumbled again. He wasn't ready to die!

Sabrina looked over at him, and for the first time, Puck noticed that she looked worried.

What she didn't look, though, was terrified. Her eyebrows were drawn together like they did whenever she was scared, and she was trembling the tiniest bit, but more than anything, she looked determined.

And there was no _way_ Puck was going to let himself get outdone by a girl. Not even Sabrina.

So he took a deep breath, stood up straight, and walked forward, trying hard not to look like he was copying Sabrina's pose.

They walked through the dark empty halls of Magica towards who knows where for a very long time. Puck was proud of how well he fought back his panic. Whenever thoughts like _I'm too beautiful to die_ or _No not yet not yet not yet_ popped back into his head, he shoved them to the side, looking at Sabrina for reassurance.

The longer they walked, though, the less calm looking at Sabrina made him. At first she just looked proud and angry. But the further they walked, the less composed Sabrina seemed. Her eyes started darting around, and she'd switched to walking on her toes the way she did when she was getting ready for a fight, or preparing to bolt.

He was pretty sure that if Sabrina was getting nervous, it would be okay for him to get nervous.

But when she looked over at him, he gave her a sly smile. He just couldn't take the absolute dread that was starting to show in her eyes.

She gave him a tiny smile back, but then she went straight back to what she'd been doing before: darting her eyes everywhere, searching desperately for- well, he didn't know what. Something. Probably a way to get them out. That was the kind of thing she'd do.

That explained why she'd been so much more composed than him. She hadn't given up on them getting out. And he- he hadn't even _tried_ to think of a way to escape. He felt kind of dumb, now. Worthless. Again.

But honestly, there was _nothing._ Maybe if either of them had had a weapon, but he couldn't even access his wings- he'd tried. They were well and truly stuck. And if they trusted this _one guard_ to watch them for this whole walk, he had to be something to worry about._  
><em>

And then there was a door in front of them. Puck had been so caught up in trying to think of a way to get them out that he hadn't noticed it until it was right in front of them.

The door slid open silently without anyone touching it, and Puck found himself walking across a narrow bridge onto a plateau. There was a clear walkway down the center of the thing, but on either side crowds of people pressed into each other. Everything was eerily silent. It skeeved Puck out.

At the other end of the path was a platform, and from a pole above it hung two nooses. Puck swallowed. He was looking at his future, and it wasn't looking very long.

They walked in silence, Puck trying to slow himself down incrementally, but getting tugged forward by the monster man every couple feet.

It seemed as if time were speeding up. Puck blinked, and suddenly the end of the path seemed half as far away.

He was going to die. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears. _Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum._ There was no other sound. He was going to die. Today._  
><em>

And then it was like the world exploded.

It didn't, really. But it felt like it.

What actually happened was that Sabrina jumped up, wrapping her chains around the enormous man's neck. While they were still clanging together, she shouted "Run!" to Puck. Since the man was too busy trying to keep himself from choking to hold onto Puck's chains, it was the perfect opportunity.

Of course, it would have helped if Puck hadn't spent the first twenty seconds frozen in shock.

By the time he could think again, everyone was running around, screaming. He tried to fight his way through the roar of the crowd, but it was hard, especially since people kept stepping on the chains between his feet, or catching their arms on the ones between his arms, or grabbing him, or running in front of him, or bumping him from all sides. He settled on just getting lost enough in the crowd that he could maybe work his way out of the chains.

There was another roar, this one louder and more animalistic than any of the noises coming out of the people in the crowd, and Puck turned around to see-

Sabrina, clinging to the back of something that definitely was _not_ a monstrous man. It was just a monster, seven feet tall at least, and angry.

Sabrina looked tinier than ever on the back of that huge furry thing. There was no way she'd be able to hang on for long.

She was still trying, though, her face as determined as Puck had ever seen it, twisting the chain around the monster's neck and not letting herself get battered around so much that she fell off the thing.

But how much longer could she hold on?

He didn't think it would be a lot of time.

And then- and then-

Puck pushed that thought aside and threw himself back through the crowd faster than he'd run away, determined to save Sabrina the way she was obviously trying to save him.

But then the world went silent again, and Puck found himself completely unable to move. He was pushing between two people, in the middle of calling out Sabrina's name, and then he couldn't move; didn't even fall over. Nothing moved.

Until someone did.

A single woman in red (one spot of bright color in a purple-gray world), one Puck recognized from his trial, walked forward among the crowd. She pulled Sabrina off the monster and placed her on the ground. Then her eyes roved the crowd until they came to rest on Puck. She walked forward and grabbed Puck by the chains, dragging him back to the monster. She smiled and walked back to the platform and the nooses hanging from it. She snapped her fingers.

Everything came back to life.

It wasn't wild, though. The people scooted back to their spots lining the pathway without saying anything, and the monster slowly morphed back into something more human. Not even Sabrina put up much of a fight.

The monster-man tugged on their chains, and Sabrina and Puck walked forward.

Puck glanced over at Sabrina. She wasn't looking around with determination anymore, or even in desperation. She was just shuffling along, with her eyes on the ground and her back slouched. She looked defeated. It was heartbreaking.

And Puck wasn't the kind of guy who found much in life to make him sad. He'd never even really cried for his father (except once, but that didn't count. Nobody had seen him).

So he whispered "Hey," in her direction. When Sabrina looked up, he grinned at her. "We're not done yet," he said under his breath.

Sabrina gave him a tight smile, bu she didn't look too encouraged.

"I mean it," Puck insisted. It was funny, a few minutes ago, he'd been sure they were down for the count. But now that Sabrina was looking like she'd given up, he found that _he_ was about as far from ready to go down without a fight as it was possible to be. He had no idea how they'd make it out of this, but he knew they would. Somehow. Or he was convincing himself of it, just to wipe that look of defeat off Sabrina's face. So he added, "We'll figure something out."

Something in her eyes must have convinced her he was serious, because this time when she smiled at him around their enormous guard-monster-person, the fire was back in her eyes.

Puck leaned back with a sigh. There was that, at least. Now he could go back to panicking.

And he did panic, numbly, all the way up the walk and straight into the noose. Because no matter what he'd said to Sabrina, _they were going to die_.

"Any last words?" the woman in red asked as the monstrous man forced their necks into the ropes. The man next to her snickered, his arm on the lever that would drop them to their deaths.

Sabrina looked down at them disdainfully and said, "It won't work. Killing us."

Her voice was so steady, so mildly _amused_ by what they were doing, so brave, that Puck felt more in love with her than ever, and awed by her, by how strong and amazing she was. He didn't deserve her. (He refused to think that he was never going to have her, not really. Not today.) Here she was sassing these people and it was all he could do to keep from begging for his life.

The woman laughed and said, "Keep telling yourself that."

Puck and Sabrina looked at each other. Sabrina reached out and grabbed his hand in her own. He took it back, squeezing it tight, and suddenly he was calm. He stopped trying to fight the chains blocking his magic, stopped pleading inside his head for a way out, stopped wanting to cry. He just looked at Sabrina, and she looked back, and they were both calm.

"I love you," he said. It was the first time he'd said it, and he wanted it to be the last thing he said, if he had to die today. He wanted her to know.

She opened her mouth to answer him, but before she could say anything, the floor dropped out from under them and they went plummeting to their fates.

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ I EXPECTED to be able to finish things up this chapter. But NOO, I had to write MORE. So you get at least one whole chapter more and then maybe an epilogue.<strong>

**Feature: "Princess Academy" by Ice Queen and Fire Queen  
><strong>If you liked how I handled Bradley, you'll probably like this fic. Ice Queen and Fire Queen is a pretty frequent updater with solid writing skills, and she's working on getting better all the time. This story isn't too far in, but I expect good things.

**Many Review Replies:**

1-2-4: **Well, there's a sequel in the works, so don't be sad about the ending! I'm already trying to write the opening. Not sure how to do it, but it'll happen. Also, um... that's a really weird request, and I'm not entirely sure why you'd want that. Plus I'm not a hundred percent convinced that this is you. It'd be really easy for someone else to be mad at you and ask for this using your name. 'Cause you DEFINITELY don't type like you're 78.**

Axel Treehorn: ** Hmph you and your other things to do. :)  
>Please don't kill yourself. I've never heard of Daughter of Evil, but from a quick Google search it looks like an anime which is cool. Unnoticed is fine for real life but you've already passed that point here. :) I KNOW YOU EXIST<br>You're the only person I've ever met who ships Sadley as a serious thing. You're also the only openly male SG fanficer I've met which means you should totally sign up 'cause we need some more variety. It also explains your name 'cause I thought you were spelling the car part wrong.  
>Dude what did you EXPECT going into the M-rated section? (I'm sorry you experienced something you weren't ready for but I'm laughing because so many people go to M-fics in this category and they freak out and I'm just going 'you poor innocent children don't go to other fandoms stay here where I can protect you.')<br>**

Guest 1:** Thanks for reviewing! (Also you're welcome and I'm sorry it took so long.) I'm glad you like it! I'll miss this story, too, but I'm 90% sure I'm going to be writing a sequel, so there's that!**

Guest 2: **I updated!**

Guest on chapter 2: **Aw, thanks!**

Julia:** I updated! I hope it lived up to your expectations!**

Reeder: Chapter 16:** Calm down you can hate whatever color you want.  
><strong>Chapter 17:** Honestly I'd be down with learning to fly.  
><strong>Chapter 21: **That's a pretty good one.  
>... You know these are closed, right? Once the next chapter's published answering the QotU is just for fun. And even if they weren't, you'd have to say something about the chapter to be eligible.<strong>

SilSha:**No, I don't think it was shorter, actually... Thanks! You reviewed actually ON my birthday (I think. I got the email on my birthday...) Glad you won spirit week, even if it means less time for reading. If it makes you feel better, I'm planning on writing a sequel. QotU: I figured that was part of it. Okay that's fine about the game thing I don't play video games except like sims, so...****  
><strong>

Weirdgurl:** Well, I'm glad you like it so much! Thanks!**


	39. Holdover Previews

**A polite letter to the 142 people who read chapter 40 and didn't review:**

**I don't know if you think I'm mean, or if you think I'm busy/famous/old enough that I wouldn't want to talk to you, but that's not how it is.**

**I also don't know if you knew that I could tell when you weren't reviewing. I can. I can see how many people come read my fic, and how many review, and how many come back and read another chapter, or read the same one again. I know you're there. And it kind of hurts my feelings when you don't review 'cause it makes me feel like you didn't think there was anything worth saying.**

**And I know I can come off kind of abrasive, or stuck up, but I promise you I'm not. I'm here to make friends as much as to write. Plus I mean there are almost two hundred people following this fic, and I don't know if some of them just never bothered to unfollow it even after they got bored or what, but I can see these things and I know you people are here.**

**~Curlscat**

* * *

><p><strong>A polite letter to the eight of you who did review:<strong>

**I love you all very much don't stop being awesome that's all.**

**~Curlscat**

* * *

><p><strong>A notice for everyone:<strong>

**I'm in Italy right now. I have internet but I don't know how much I'll be able to be on. I'm only here writing this right now because I'm supposed to be doing homework.**

**Italy is gorgeous but scary and very different. I'll be here for three weeks. If you're lucky I'll update something while I'm here. If not, you'll have to wait until I get back from a mission trip the on the 25th.**

**In light of that, have some anonymous review replies:**

Guest: **I can only update so much before the story's over, and there's not a lot of story left. In fact, I'm writing this before I write the chapter, but this may be it for the story. I don't know.**

Molly:** I know, I know. This chapter and the last one were supposed to be ONE chapter, but it got long and out of hand and it was either break the chapter here or make the chapter insanely long and not update before I left.**

**and also a preview/summary of the sequel because PROCRASTINATION:**

**Summary of the fic which is tentatively titled "Foreign Policy and Hostage Situations":**  
>Everything seems to be settled after the end of the war with Magica, until the Grimms hear about a loose end they forgot to tie up: Red, lunatic extraordinaire, is loose with her monsters, and not in the Tradeskingdoms. The kids have to go retrieve her before she causes problems, but this may be difficult in a land where they are seen as unwanted intruders, not foreign royalty.<p>

**Some preview snippets:**

"Take your hands off my husband," Sabrina ordered the man with the knife, who appeared to be the leader of the group surrounding them.

"Oh, sure, don't worry about me," Daphne complained, from the arms of her own captor.

"If you can't take care of yourself I'm going to be extremely disappointed," Sabrina replied, not taking her eyes off the man holding a knife to Puck's throat.

The man laughed, gesturing to the person with his arms wrapped around Sabrina's neck. "I don't believe you're in a position to make demands."

Sabrina glared at him. "I am Sabrina Grimm, Queen of Trickster and Heir to the throne of Sneak. I have ruled countries. I have been in war. I have stared death in the face. Now unhand my husband before I am forced to kill all of you." She smiled. "If you think I can't, you've got a surprise coming."

* * *

><p>"What if I told you I wanted a baby?" Puck asked, pressing his lips into Sabrina's neck.<p>

Sabrina, who had been completely prepared to melt into Puck's arms and chest and mouth, froze stiff, her mind shutting down.

* * *

><p>"Shh, Red, you'll be fine," Daphne whispered. "I promise I'll get you out of this."<p>

Red pressed herself close to Daphne and said, "You can't. No one can."

Above them, the floor creaked. Dust showered down, and Daphne could see the outline of feet on the floorboards ahead, their owners' shadows cutting through the light that fell on them. This was not the best hiding place. They could be seen.

But she just held Red tighter and said, "I can."

She would make it be true.

* * *

><p>Puck pressed himself against Sabrina and whispered, "Well, you know, now that we're safe and all..."<p>

Sabrina turned around to wrap her arms around him, and she was about to press her lips together when Daphne's voice piped up, "I'm still here, you know."

"Go get some firewood," Sabrina mumbled without looking over at her sister.

"We have plenty."

"Then dig a latrine."

Daphne left, muttering under her breath about newlyweds, and Sabrina stretched up to kiss Puck.

* * *

><p>"The king won't see you," the servant said. "Go away."<p>

"But I need to see him!" Daphne protested. "It's important!"

"Come away," the girl behind her said. "It's dangerous out here."

"No!" Daphne protested. "I know my rights!"

She was still protesting as the guards forced her backwards.

* * *

><p>Sabrina shoved her elbow into the man behind her, and as he leaned forward, letting out a 'whoof' of air, she stretched her hand into a slit in her dress, coming back up a millisecond later, before any of the other men in the group could respond to the action, and paused, hands ready. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.<p>

The leader pressed his knife tighter against Puck's throat.

Sabrina, now free, raised an eyebrow at the man, flickering her fingers so that the knives between them glittered. "Go ahead," she said. "Try me."

* * *

><p>"Sneak?" the man said, raising an eyebrow at her. "That's not a country I've ever heard of."<p>

This, of course, was why Sabrina had wanted to stay undercover. But _no_, Daphne had to be herself, and now they were in this situation.

"Oh, you mean that school-place, the one in the islands out east," his wife said, handing the trio bowls of stew. "Didn't know they had people fancying themselves royalty."

"Fancying?" Puck demanded, rising, "I'll have you know I'm a king!"

Sabrina pressed her face into her hands. So much for being discreet.

* * *

><p>Daphne stared at the other girl in horror and whispered, "What did they do to you?"<p>

"I can show you," Red offered. "Maybe."

This was big. Daphne wasn't sure if she was ready. But the look in the girl's eyes... She nodded. "Do it."

* * *

><p>She was a blur of motion, throwing knives in all directions. Each one hit its mark. None were fatal, but all were dangerous. Once she was done, only three of the bandits was left unharmed. The one behind her was standing back up, though, so she smashed her fist into his nose, and he fell to the ground.<p>

She glanced at the leader, who currently had a knife blade pressing through the center of his hand. "Told you so."

* * *

><p>"She's gone," Puck said softly, looking at his wife. "Daphne left."<p>

Sabrina rolled out of her pile of blankets, cursing little sisters and whoever gave them the idea they could go places on their own.

She would _not_ let Daphne get in trouble again. Not here, where she couldn't protect her. Where she didn't understand anything. Her sister was too important to her for that. And besides, how could she face Pinocchio, or her family, if Daphne... got hurt? How could she face _herself_?

**~Curlscat**


	40. Try Not to Die

**AN~ Sorry this took so long, guys. Not gonna lie I was terrified of writing this chapter 'cause I was sure I wouldn't be able to do it justice. I still feel like I could have done way better, but at least I wrote it, which is what you care about, right?**

QotU: Which chapter was your favorite? Why?

**Old QotU Winner: TheStormThief and IceQueenandFireQueen because they helped me think up a better title.**

* * *

><p>Charming, Snow, and their allies had been making good use of the time they had. They'd spent every second of it planning for how they were going to rescue the rulers of Sneak and Trickster. So when the day of the sorry excuse for a trial and the execution came, they were ready.<p>

Daphne still felt completely panicked, though.

Which is why, when she found out they weren't actually sending her to rescue her sister, her first feeling was one of relief.

This was immediately followed by guilt and a whole lot of anger, but her first thought was definitely _oh thank goodness I'm not ready for that big a responsibility_.

Then "What do you _mean_ I don't get to go?"

"We're doing something else," Snow explained. "You and I are going into the castle on another mission. An important one."

"More important than saving my sister?" Daphne demanded. "I need to be there!" What would Sabrina think if she found out Daphne had been too scared to come save her?

"You and I are important, Daphne," Snow said. "We need to survive this, and I'm the only one who can finish this mission. I asked for you specifically."

"_Billy_ gets to go on the battlefield!"_  
><em>

"Yes, and you don't," Snow said. "Now come on, we've got to be ready to go as soon as they start the trial."

Daphne followed Snow.

* * *

><p>Sabrina wasn't dead.<p>

This was the first thing she noticed. The second was how _loud_ everything was.

Then she saw the man inches from her face, holding an axe and looking very, very angry, and she decided she could wait to figure out what exactly was going on.

He swung the axe at her, and she backed away, holding her hands up in front of her. They were still chained together. But that didn't mean they were useless.

Before she could do anything, though, her foot failed completely to find anything to stand on, and she almost fell over. This saved her life.

The axe hit a stone cliff exactly where her face had been seconds before as Sabrina fell, leaning forward just enough to keep herself from tumbling over a cliff she hadn't known was there.

While the man was yanking his weapon out of the stone, she took a moment to look around. She was on a ledge maybe five feet wide and twenty feet long. On her left side was a cliff wall. On her right and behind her there was a very sharp drop to who knows where. Puck was nowhere to be seen. Above her was the bottom of the platform which was supposed to have killed her. She could see the scaffolding and the end of a frayed rope (she was supposed to be hanging from that). It was supported by the ledge on one side and two wooden beams on the other.

She was backed into a corner with a drop to her death on one side and an angry man with an axe on the other. At her disposal she had the noose around her neck, the chain between her feet and her wrists, and herself.

She'd been in worse situations.

Once. Or twice. In training. Where she wouldn't actually die.

Still, she'd made it out of those, and she'd already cheated death once today (somehow- she'd figure that out later), so there was no point in getting discouraged.

So it was time to start fighting.

* * *

><p>Charming's plan had carried itself off without a hitch. The Magicians who were on their side had disguised them, and everyone they could get gathered in the crowd outside Magica's castle, pretending to be just a few more terrified natives, forced to watch people they didn't care about die.<p>

They waited in silence, and he hoped their resident witch was holding up her end of things. If Morgan wasn't working a decay spell on the ropes, all of this would be for nothing. But if he let himself get fidgety, he might give them away.

He watched as the two royals walked out of the castle, as they held their heads high, and as the girl did that stupid, daring thing and attacked her guard. He'd heard of the Beast, and knew how foolish it was to attack him. But she did well. He was almost... impressed. Perhaps she was worth all this trouble.

He watched them walk up to the platform, hold their heads high, and say their last words, and he saw a lot of Snow in this young queen, the queen Snow could have been, if things worked out differently.

He watched them fall, and he watched the ropes _snap_.

He watched the crowd explode into a frenzy.

And then he pulled out his sword.

* * *

><p>Snow and Daphne went a completely different way than everybody else. As they all headed up to the open gathering place in front of Magica's castle, a place that had been for festivals before the tyranny of the people who were supposed to free the country, the two women went into the castle itself.<p>

They wound their way through a whole bunch of empty tunnels and Daphne realize how creepy this castle was without people. It was sad. She'd been happy here, and now all these horrible things had happened. She looked at Snow, and decided the older princess was thinking the same thing.

They climbed up higher. Daphne wondered where they were heading.

* * *

><p>Puck felt the rope that was supposed to kill himself snap, and for half a second he was completely elated. Then he looked down and realized he was hundreds of feet in the air with a straight drop underneath him, and he groaned. The wind snatched the sound away.<p>

Normally this would be no big deal. Normally he could just fly himself to safety.

Now he understood why Sabrina had gotten so scared when she fell into one of the Tracks.

Well, he was still going to die, but he didn't see Sabrina anywhere with him, and she'd fallen at the same time he did, so there was that at least. He felt like maybe he was okay with dying as long as she was still alive.

So he relaxed and let himself fall.

* * *

><p>Getting around the man with the axe turned out to be far easier than Sabrina had anticipated, because his weapon wouldn't come out of the stone.<p>

He gave up after a few seconds, during which Sabrina had slid halfway around him, and spun to attack her with his hands. She dodged, jumping backwards with her hands held high above her.

Thankfully, she'd aimed right, and the chain between her wrists caught on a stray nail in the platform (they'd had _weeks_ to build this thing- shoddy work). She swung backwards as hard as she could, and when she came back forward, she slammed her feet into the man's face.

He fell over backwards, almost falling off the edge of the ledge, and caught himself on one of the beams.

The beam moved, and the whole structure shook.

Sabrina and the executioner's eyes met, wide. For a second they weren't on opposite sides, they were just two terrified people who were going to die when this thing came down.

Then Sabrina smiled, swung herself harder, and flipped onto the top of the platform. As she worked her wrists free of the nail, she waved at the man who'd almost killed her.

She ran off the platform to safety, only to find herself in the middle of a battle.

* * *

><p>Daphne and Snow climbed higher and higher, until Daphne was certain they'd reached the very top of the mountain that the castle had been carved out of. Then they kept climbing. The rooms got smaller and the walls began to slant inwards.<p>

Then they reached a room that was nothing but a staircase leading straight to the ceiling.

"Where do we go from here?" Daphne asked, breaking the silence they'd kept the whole journey.

Snow just smiled a little, grimly, and said, "Up."

Daphne looked at the ceiling dubiously, but shrugged and followed Snow.

They made it to the point where they had to crouch, then Snow touched the ceiling above the fourth from last step and whispered a few words Daphne couldn't hear.

The ceiling opened up.

Snow and Daphne went through the new entrance.

* * *

><p>Puck was, suddenly, falling <em>up<em>.

This was completely fine with him, so when he found himself hovering above the edge of the plateau and then fell in a graceless clump, he didn't even feel like his dignity had been hurt. He was alive. That was nice.

"Sorry about that," a female voice said, and a gentle pair of hands helped him up. Puck found himself looking into the eyes of the most alluring woman he'd ever seen. She wasn't as beautiful as Sabrina's teacher from Sneak, but she seemed more approachable. If he hadn't been completely infatuated with Sabrina, he'd probably have fallen for her.

As it was, he had to work hard to keep his jaw from dropping open.

She smiled at him and said, "I miscalculated. I thought you were two feet to the right. It's a good thing I made sure to stand near the edge, otherwise you'd have been... well. Let's not think about that."

Puck just nodded and said, "Guh."

The woman muttered something, and then the chains on Puck's wrists and ankles and the rope around his neck all fell off, the chains rusted into almost nothing and the rope disintegrating in dry fibers. Puck could _feel_ the amount of magic she'd just put out. No wonder she was knocking him so far off balance. This woman was a witch- and a strong one.

And apparently she was on his side. Which was good.

"Can you fight?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"Good," she said, and smiled grimly. "These people took my son from me, and today we're making them pay." She handed him a sword. "If we get separated, find the dwarves. They'll get you to safety."

Puck stared at her for a few seconds more, but she was already moving, calling, "Come on!"

Puck shrugged, hefted the sword, and followed her.

* * *

><p>Sabrina stumbled into the chaos, wondering how on earth these people, most of whom had been perfectly content to watch her die, had begun rebelling at exactly the same moment.<p>

A few other people seemed to be just as confused as she was, and she reached out with both hands (as if she had another choice) and grabbed one of them, yanking the terrified looking woman close enough that she could shout over the clamor, "what's happening?"

"I don't know!" the woman wailed. "The prisoners didn't die and then suddenly half the crowd started fighting each other! They're going to kill us all!"

Well, that was useless.

It was none of her business if the Magicians had picked today to rebel against their government for the second time in less than half a century. If it made it easier for her to get away, that was all well and good. But all she wanted to do was get out, get her hands and feet free, and find Puck.

Which she supposed meant she'd have to fight for a little bit, just to get herself through the crowd.

Well. She might as well get started.

* * *

><p>Puck, of course, got separated from whatsherbeautifulface within minutes. And dwarves aren't exactly easy to find in a crowded battlefield. So instead he focused very hard on <em>not dying<em> until he could either find her again or attach himself to a short person. He didn't just fly away because a number of other people in the area were flying, too, and some of them were breathing fire. All of them had sharp things that they could stick him with.

So he stayed on the ground, mostly. He was less noticeable there.

And he fought. He was kinda glad Sabrina had showed him how to use his sword better because he didn't think he'd still be alive right now if he hadn't been trying to prove he was better than she was back then. He moved faster than he thought he could, spinning and slashing and trying hard not to hurt anyone who wasn't trying to hurt him. His brain mostly turned off as he focused harder on fighting. He would survive this. He'd almost died twice today, and he was not going to get that close to death again.

* * *

><p>At the top of the stairs was a windy little room full of mirrors. As Daphne and Snow entered it, faces appeared in all of them, one by one, saying, "Sister!" and "Snow!"<p>

One mirror stayed empty, though.

Snow smiled at all the funny looking people in the Mirror and and walked up to the last one, the empty one. Daphne trailed after her, trying hard not to squeal or stare too much. Snow had a _family_?

"Brother," Snow said into the empty mirror. "I know you're there. Come out."

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the mirror rippled.

* * *

><p>Sabrina threw her hands out strategically into an oncoming blast of magic, and felt the chains around her wrists become flowers. A person about ten feet behind her on the left shouted his desperate thanks, but she was already hopping off in little six-inch step-jumps in search of a way to get her feet unstuck.<p>

On the way, she grabbed a falling dagger (she'd seen several discarded wands, but she knew better than to touch those). She'd meant to catch it by the handle, but she missed and grabbed it by the blade, cutting her hand open. Without pausing, she threw the dagger into her other hand and continued hopping.

Two men with broadswords were fighting to her right, and one of them was swinging wildly, trying to hit the other man, who was a good deal shorter.

Sabrina got an idea.

She baby-stepped behind the shorter man, and when both men were distracted, she shoved him out of the way.

The taller man's sword clanged down into the ground between her legs, shattering the chain between them.

She was really out of practice, though, because it also sliced a good portion of her stomach open. Now she was bleeding in two places. Perfect.

She'd have to get out of here fast, because if she didn't, she was going to bleed to death. The stomach wound probably wasn't deep enough to do much damage, but it was letting loose a _lot_ of blood.

But now she could _move_. So she started to.

And then someone grabbed the noose that was still around her neck and _yanked_.

* * *

><p>Puck found himself face to face with the fat woman in red who had helped decide they should execute him, and he really hoped he'd get to kill her.<p>

"You!" she shouted, and lunged for him.

Puck backed up hurriedly from this woman who was probably certifiably insane, and raised his sword.

He was shoved out of the way by a blonde man in a long jacket who flashed him a crooked grin from underneath is even more crooked nose and said, "I'll take this one, kid. Got a score to settle."

Puck wondered why the man was calling him a goat, but let him take over. Crazy women were not his forte.

There was a roar behind him, and he started to smile. Monsters, now _those_ he was good at.

* * *

><p>The man who had grabbed Sabrina by the neck was one of the people who'd been on the Magician's council. He'd laughed at her. She was fairly sure his name was Nottingham, but she was a bit busy dodging his dagger (longer than hers, and twisted) to sort through the facts in her mind.<p>

"You're-" he swung at her, and she dodged, barely. "Not getting away that easy."

Sabrina raised the knife in her left hand and hoped she hadn't gotten so rusty that she couldn't save herself without her dominant hand.

Then they were fighting, Sabrina mostly dodging and ducking to conserve energy, the man who might be named Nottingham slicing with complete precision. He was _good._ And she was out of practice. Thankfully, though, her muscles remembered how to fight, even if they were a little slower than usual. And she'd lasted longer than he seemed to have expected.

She was getting tired, though. She'd lost a lot of blood, and her wounds didn't seem to want to clot anytime soon. And she'd barely done anything in what might be months.

Sabrina was getting a bit tired of looking death in the face. Couldn't it just kill her already? Or leave her be? This indecision was getting tiring.

Oh well.

She kept fighting.

* * *

><p>Puck had just backed into someone. This wasn't the first time it had happened in this fight, but it was still something he should be a bit concerned about, so he turned around and saw- Sabrina.<p>

She was alive. Fighting for her life, and bleeding heavily, but alive. He almost died that moment himself (thanks to a large dragon in his face), he was so grateful she wasn't dead.

She smiled grimly at him, and that smile communicated that she was just as glad as he was. Then they went back to fighting.

* * *

><p>A face appeared in the mirror, and it said, "Hello, Snow. It's been a long time."<p>

"I see you haven't wasted the years," Snow said. "You've gotten yourself nicely in charge of the country."

"Yes, but there's a bit of a rebellion going on, so if you wouldn't mind, could we catch up later?" the face asked.

"No," Snow said. "This is the perfect time for a family reunion." She gestured to the room. "After all, we're all here."

"You certainly took your time," the face said. "We've all been here for years."

"I thought you were dead," Snow whispered. "I thought you were all dead. I thought I was the only one left."

"Surprise!" the man in the mirror said. "I'm not dead, and I've been doing your job!"

"You could have just asked for it," Snow said softly. "I wasn't going to be here anyway. I'd have let you rule."

"But mother wouldn't have," he said. "It's why I had to kill her."

Snow's fists clenched. "I thought I had a lot to say to you, brother," she said, "but I don't. You're monstrous. That's all."

The man in the mirror opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Snow's fist shot forward into the glass, and the mirror shattered.

* * *

><p>Without warning, every piece of glass across the whole plateau (there was a good deal more than Sabrina had noticed) exploded.<p>

Everyone on the battlefield froze, some (natives) looking around with complete horror, others just confused, ducking to keep from getting anything too important sliced.

"Pst, stinkpot," Sabrina whispered to Puck, whose back she was still pressed up against (she wasn't going to tell him it was so she didn't fall over). When he looked at her, she jerked her head upwards and said, "Get us out of here."

Puck grinned at her and swept her up into his arms. Together they flew off to somewhere safe.

* * *

><p>"Is that it?" Daphne asked after a few seconds of silence, looking at the bits of glass all over the ground. "Is it over?"<p>

"No," Snow said, wiping blood off her hand, "but it's a start."

* * *

><p><strong>AN~ Bit on the short side, but sorry guys. The next chapter will be the last one, where I wrap everything up.<strong>

**Feature: "Freedom, Love, and Family" by Hanyou of the Grimms  
><strong>Sabrina is a princess who spends all her time pretending to be something she's not. It's kind of oddly first person, but interesting. And she used the Oxford comma in her title which always makes me happy.

**Many Review Replies:**

A:** I'm sorry I want validation for this thing I do? That I want to know people actually enjoy it and aren't just reading it so they can find out how it ends, or because they don't know how to stop? That reviewing fics and getting reviews is mostly the way I make friends here?**

Anonymous:** What? No, the people in the mirrors are basically in jail. The Magicians wanted to kill them, but they couldn't so they just locked them away and forgot about them. Magica hates their royalty.**

Anynonymus:** What should I continue writing? The sequel? That's coming. I wouldn't write a preview and not write what it was a preview for.**

Artisticdreamer: **Of course that wasn't the last chapter. Why on earth would I end it on a cliffhanger like that? And even if it was, it'd be obvious I was going to wrap it up, right? But seriously I didn't mark it complete or anything. I'm pretty sure I mentioned I'd be back to update, which you'd have noticed if you read what I wrote (Sorry it's just a lot of people thought I was finished and a. not marked complete. b. said I'd be back. c. when have I ever ended a fic on a cliffhanger? d. I always tell people when fics are ending.)**

forgotmypassword:** So who are you, really, then? If you forgot your password? This was an excellent review and it made me very happy. Thank you. :) And mostly I ran out of time to write in Italy 'cause it wasn't a vacation, it was study abroad. So I had class and stuff.**

Guest 1:** It's okay, but why couldn't you have started reviewing earlier? By the way, um... Your signature doesn't look like a bunny.**

Guest 2: **Yeah I got back a while ago, but I had an emergency with a bad aftermath, so it took me some time to recover.**

Hailey:** I forgive you. Thanks for the review. It did make me smile. :) You could tell me your favorite parts. That would be good for reviewing.**

Krystynn nli: **I'm in Urbino- it's a little mountain city in the Marche region. Where are you? (Also yeah college is the reason this fic wasn't finished YEARS ago, but I'm glad you think it's worth keeping up with!)**

La La Land:** I was aiming for movie trailer. :) Glad I pulled it off. But you know it would have been weird to start the next fic without finishing this one. Just sayin'. Why on EARTH would I end the fic there? I HATE when people end on cliffhangers. Also I'd have marked the fic as complete. Also relax you don't have to worry about signing off. People who do that are mostly people with accounts trying to show that it's actually them.**

Laura: **... Weird that there's a Laura B here and a Lara D... Sorry for ruining your life? Why was it confusing? Because it wasn't a chapter, it was just a preview. Did you expect it to be in order?**

Name10:** Thanks! They're fun to write, here.**


	41. Healing

**AN~ Okay, guys, here it finally is. Rewritten. I'm pretty happy with it, to be honest. Way happier than I was last time. I rushed it then.  
><strong>

**ALSO the reason I didn't update this like a month ago is NOT a crap reason actually I almost died (I had a ruptured brain aneurysm) so yeah I am down for the count for another two to five months and lucky to be alive so yeah my head hurts like crazy and no more school for me this year. It also means the sequel (which is in the works) probably won't be out for a couple months.**

**Guest 1: Oh wow thanks that makes me feel special. Sorry this took so long.**

**Guest 2: I'm sorry. I honestly didn't think it was that huge a cliffy.**

**Guest 3: Well thanks much!**

**Guest 4: I think you're the same person because I got a whole bunch of reviews in order at once (well vaguely) on old chapters with no name, so if you're three different people that would be weird. Anyway. Chapter 20: River Otter's an interesting choice. Chapter 21: Yeah but Sneak dresses hide their pockets pretty well so Puck doesn't see where these things come from most of the time. And a whole lantern in a pocket? That's kinda weird. Chapter 32: Okay.**

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><p>Sabrina and Puck didn't make it very far. In fact, Puck's wings were in such bad shape, and they were both so injured, that they landed almost as soon as they were off the mountain.<p>

Fortunately, right below the mountain was a rather adorable little valley. A small stream ran between the castle and the next mountain, and it was bordered on either side by evergreen forests, which climbed right up to the tree line.

Unfortunately, the valley wasn't quite as empty as they'd hoped.

Nearly as soon as Puck landed, they were met by a group of very short men, all carrying axes. The men appeared soundlessly out of the trees, surrounding them.

Puck went to move into a defensive stance, but as he did so, releasing Sabrina, she wobbled, dropping to her knees.

For the first time since they'd found each other, Puck actually looked at Sabrina. She was bleeding from multiple wounds, and where she wasn't stained bright red she was worryingly pale.

He turned to the short men. "Can you help us?" he croaked. "She's dying." It was a mark of how desperate he was that he asked for help at all. "I promise we won't hurt you. We just want to get home."

The men turned silently and melted into the trees. Puck thought for a minute that they had abandoned them, deciding they weren't a threat, or were going to get reinforcements. They returned a few minutes later, though, armed with a makeshift stretcher.

Puck helped them load Sabrina onto it, and she went without protest. Four of the men lifted Sabrina effortlessly, and Puck and the other men followed them. Their destination was a small house pressed up against the side of the mountain. Puck gave it an incredulous glance Sure, the men were small, but that building couldn't have been more than one room, and there were seven of them. How on earth could they _fit_?

Upon entering the room, Puck received his explanation: the house had been dug out of the mountain, and though the ceiling was low enough that he could touch it without even stretching his arm out all the way, it was spacious and warm.

"Sit," one of the men said, nodding at a stone chair near the fireplace set into the wall, about a foot off the floor. "We'll take care of her."

Puck sat down in the chair to wait. The men moved into a room further into mountain, taking Sabrina with them. Puck sat. A few minutes later, one of the men emerged and handed Puck a cup of tea. He disappeared again. Puck kept sitting, waiting. It was silent on the other side of the door. On his side, the only sound was the crackle of the fire and the wind blowing outside. Sabrina could die. He found himself getting more and more tense. Eventually, it got to be too much. He got up to go see how she was doing. He made it two steps before he changed his mind and turned to head back to his seat. There, he changed his mind again. He had to see. But what if he interrupted them and it messed them up?

He ended up pacing across the floor until one of the men finally reappeared.

"Well?" Puck asked, trying not to sound too anxious and failing.

"She'll live," the man said. "She's asleep now, though, and it's best she stays that way. You can only go in if you promise not to wake her."

"Promise, definitely, yeah," Puck said, already heading for the door. "I just- I need to see her."

The men left the room one by one as Puck entered it. As soon as he saw Sabrina, still filthy and pale but no longer bleeding, he nearly collapsed. She was alive, and whoever these men were, they'd helped. He was next to her in three steps, silent but so, so grateful. He knelt next to the bed and pressed his forehead to her hand, feeling the pulse beating weakly in her wrist.

It was several moments before he remembered the beautiful witch on the plateau and the way she'd mentioned dwarves, and put two and two together.

With that, though, he relaxed completely, and he was asleep within moments.

He woke back up when someone stepped on his stomach and shrieked "Sabrina!" loud enough to wake the dead.

"What the-" Puck started, rubbing his eyes.

There was still someone on his stomach. She appeared to be a youngish teenage girl, with long black braids tied in one of Sabrina's elaborate styles, and she was very heavy. She was also hugging Sabrina, who was waking up slowly.

"Get off me," Puck said, shoving at the girl, who he presumed was Sabrina's sister.

"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry!" the girl said, stepping off Puck without letting go of Sabrina. "I didn't even see you there, I was so excited to see Sabrina. I haven't seen her in nearly two years and- are you Puck? Are you going to marry Sabrina? How could you let her get this hurt? Is she going to be okay? What happened?"

Sabrina laughed weakly and said, "Give him time to answer, Daph." She groaned. "Oh, I feel terrible."

"You look worse," Puck said. He meant it as a joke, and he gave her a weak smile to go along with it, but he was pretty sure his voice trembled. She'd come so close to bleeding out. If they'd been a little slower...

"Yeah, but I'm alive." Sabrina said, giving him a smile that was more reassuring than it should have been. He'd have been offended if he didn't need the reassurance so much. "After the day- well, year, really- that we've had, I'll take what I can get."

Daphne squeezed Sabrina and said, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Sabrina said, hugging back, "But could you not squeeze so hard? I kind of got my stomach sliced open earlier. It's still a bit sensitive."

Daphne stopped squeezing, slid her arms up to Sabrina's shoulders, which were uninjured, and squeezed again, just as hard.

A few other women entered the room. Puck recognized one of them as Sabrina's friend from home, Snow or something, and the beautiful woman from earlier.

"We're here to get you changed," Snow said to Sabrina. "And cleaned up a bit." She turned to Puck and said, "Shoo, now. You can see her later."

"We're going to be married," Puck protested. He threw in a playful smile to hide the fact that he was a little worried that if he left her, she'd deteriorate behind his back. He might lose her. It was a completely irrational fear, of course. These people knew how to take care of wounded girls, and they were on their side. She'd be fine. He was still worried.

"But you're not married yet," Snow said sternly. She flapped her hands at him. "Shoo! You can see her again in an hour! Let us make the poor girl comfortable."

Puck muttered under his breath, but he obeyed the woman and went back into the common room, where he was greeted by a hot stew that mollified him somewhat.

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><p>Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck spent the rest of the winter with the dwarves. Sabrina had wanted to head home as soon as possible, but her injuries were worse than she'd thought, and she had difficulty walking further than a few steps the first days after the battle. There was no way she'd make it home in the middle of a Magician winter, even in the best conditions, and this was not the best conditions.<p>

For one thing, It was snowing at least once a week, and the snow just kept piling higher without ever melting. More importantly, though, the country was still in turmoil. Snow might have defeated the main leader of the Magician's war, but there were still other important people fighting. The Magicians were warring amongst themselves and against the Sneaks and Tricksters. The odds that Sabrina would end up in the middle of a skirmish if they headed home were high. The odds that she'd get out of one alive were very, very low.

So the three stayed in the little cabin the whole winter. Everyone else left. Snow and most of the Magicians went off to try and work Magica into some semblance of order, and they sent frequent reports about what was happening. Sabrina was pretty sure her friend wasn't going to come back to Sneak after this was over. William took his men back to Artisa, and from the looks he exchanged with Snow, Sabrina wasn't entirely sure if Snow would stay in Magica or go to Artisa. Either way, she'd lose her.

On the other hand, she had her sister back, and that was absolutely wonderful. Sabrina and Daphne spent much of the winter catching up. Sabrina had to do a lot of walking to get herself back in shape, and as they tromped around in snowshoes through the sparkling forests around the dwarves' cabin, they talked about everything. Sabrina didn't have a lot of energy, though, so Daphne and Puck spent a lot of time bonding through exercise. The dwarves built the two a pair of skis each and taught them how to use them, and they both threw snow at each other as much as the clouds threw it at the ground. Sabrina's sister and fiance got along splendidly, for which she was eternally grateful.

After dark, and on days when the weather was too fierce for them to venture outside, the trio and the dwarves spent their time inside. Sabrina did some exercises to keep herself in shape in the main room, and the dwarves taught them all handicrafts. They were all incredibly skilled at making all kinds of things, and Sabrina learned a lot. She learned more than Daphne and Puck, because her energy levels were lower than theirs, and she was forced to remain inside far more. One of the dwarves always kept her company, so she was never too bored.

The winter passed away quite peacefully this way, for them at least. Outside the war was still going on, and they received updates now and again, but it appeared the tide had turned in their favor, with the Magicians fighting among themselves. They were winning. Sabrina spent her days outside in the forest, enjoying how beautiful Magica was, although it was bitterly cold. The purple tinge to the air, combined with the deep color of the evergreens, the snow, and the occasional bird, was as healing to her soul as the time was to her body. They didn't get snow in Sneak. She thought she liked it.

Her nights were spent inside, with mugs of tea and bowls of stew, with music and laughter and a crackling fire combating the fierce wind that blew just outside. She was fairly certain that she would always associate winter nights with coziness, no matter how long it got to be since she'd stayed in this valley.

Sabrina's healing and the spring thaw came at almost exactly the same time. Magica in the early spring was nowhere near as beautiful as Magica in the winter, and she was grateful that she wouldn't have to stay. The snow melted and turned to mud during the day and ice at night, so walking anywhere became a hazard. All the cute little animals that had darted through the woods were now covered in mud, and the mountains were gray-brown instead of sparkling white or silver. The stream ran thick and cloudy, spilling over its banks, and the whole world was just cold enough to be uncomfortable, but not cold enough for them to bundle up.

Thankfully, they could leave. The dwarves packed the trio of young royals off into their own private entrance to the tunnels that wove their way through the continent. Sabrina was beginning to wonder if the men's ancestors hadn't been the ones to carve the tunnels. She didn't ask, though. She simply accepted the map and the rations of food and torches they gave her, and headed back to her home.

After a long, uncomfortable trek through the tunnels which probably wouldn't have been good for Sabrina before she was healed, they emerged in Sneak. Sabrina was pretty happy that they'd only gotten lost twice, and they'd caught it both times. Puck was just happy to be outside again. Daphne, for her part, was just happy. From the place they left the tunnels, it was just a few hours until they were at the castle of Sneak.

When they first arrived, there was complete silence. The castle was still. Sabrina and Daphne traded worried looks, and Sabrina gripped Puck's hand in hers- an open show of affection that she wouldn't normally allow herself.

Then someone's head peeked over the wall, and there was a flurry of motion. At the end, Sabrina and Daphne found themselves face to face with their family- their entire family, in the same place for the first time in seven years.

It was the most wonderful feeling Sabrina had ever experienced.

The following year was spent rebuilding. It was a long year, and a busy one. Sneak and Trickster had held their own against the invaders, yes, but the Magicians had done a number on their infrastructure, and the food supplies were almost entirely destroyed after a year of war. It was excellent that the Artisans were available to help with the rebuilding so the locals could focus on food. By the time winter came again, the countries weren't back to looking like their former glory, or anywhere near it, but they were at least livable, and the locals could do the rest themselves. They _wanted_ to do it themselves, in most cases. Sneaks were secretive about what their houses should be like, and anyone other than the owners knowing everything about the house would be nearly sacrilegious, particularly telling someone from outside the _country _how to design their secret passageways. And Tricksters didn't trust anyone else to put together their traps.

The winter and the summer of the next year were more rebuilding, a finishing kind of rebuilding, instead of a haphazard rush to make the countries able to survive the winter. Sabrina was glad that this winter she would be able to eat something other than various seafood dishes. Eel pie was not exactly her favorite dish.

And that fall, Sabrina and Puck were married.

The ceremony was held outside, in the forests of Trickster, on the cliffs above the ocean. Sabrina didn't pay much attention to most of it. Weddings, for royalty, were not for the people getting married. She didn't choose her dress, or any of the decorations, or the guests. She simply showed up, although she had suggested to her mother that the wedding be held in Trickster so that her uncle could attend.

Veronica had agreed, and Sabrina had seen her father and uncle talking before the ceremony.

Now, though, it was a beautiful day. The wind was blowing through the trees, scattering orange, red, and yellow leaves around the space. It looked like the forest was on fire. Puck, for once, was clean, and he looked equally uncomfortable and ecstatic, standing across from her and telling her that he would be faithful to her forever (their marriage vows didn't mention the chaos their life was sure to be, but she could infer it). Her dress might not have been one she would pick, but it was a good dress, and she looked wonderful, standing in front of all these dignitaries she didn't know and swearing her loyalty straight back at Puck. Everyone she loved was there. And her country was safe.

What more could she ask for?


	42. Foreign Policy and Hostage Situations!

**AN~ GUYS I UPLOADED THE SEQUEL GO CHECK IT OUT! It's called "Foreign Policy and Hostage Situations" and the first chapter is UP!**

**And since I'm updating this I figure I'll add some review replies: **

**grace: **Yes, it's finished, and I'm glad you liked the ending, but you should totally go read the sequel (hint hint).

**Guest who reviewed so many chapters: **_Ch. 1:_ Glad you liked it, thanks!  
><em>Ch. 20:<em> Dude I read a book where someone had an otter as a pet it was called "Ring of Bright Water" and it was a great book until the end skip the end just like you should skip the end of Old Yeller and stuff.  
><em>Ch. 21:<em> Yeah but Sneak pockets are pretty close to invisible and Puck can't find them so he doesn't believe they exist.  
><em>Ch. 32:<em> That is a good answer.

**Guest on chapter 1: **Thanks!

**Guest on chapter 17 who reviewed twice: **I don't know if it has a hundred leaves (it definitely doesn't have a hundred petals), but that's the name of the type of rose. It actually exists and I looked it up because I wanted it to have significance but I needed one that looked like the cover because I wrote large portions of this chapter only because of the amazing cover Epiphany drew me.

**mary: **the sequel is here! And no I am 21.

**Vivka: **It's OUT! Glad you liked it!

_**PLEASE GO READ MY SEQUEL**_


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